


Silent Nights

by apeppermint



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Gen, Original Character(s), Post-Canon, References to Persona 1 & 2 (both), semi-au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 04:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11394915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apeppermint/pseuds/apeppermint
Summary: Recalled to the Velvet Room by sudden, unexplained circumstances, Akira Kurusu, Yu Narukami, and Aigis are presented with a new challenge.A request by Philemon.





	1. The Cold

**Author's Note:**

> The Persona games kinda have an iffy timeline, so I made adjustments to fit this fic. I'll address that as we get there.
> 
> There'll probably be no focus on romantic relationships, at least any that aren't canon. Just so you know.

The night was icy.

Akira Kurusu was bundled up in black pea coat. It hadn't begun snowing yet, but the constant battering of wind threatened it. He shivered involuntarily and hunched up against the gales, which cut against his pale cheeks. Though he had since cast off his glasses, he sometimes missed them a little. Mostly as a fashion statement, but sometimes as just a barrier against the elements. Without them, his eyes felt like they might turn into ice cubes.

His home city was alight with Christmas decorations. The gigantic tree in the main square was already up, though Christmas was three weeks away. He enjoyed the effect of the little downtown, the Christmas-y deals on display in restaurant and shop windows. He paused in front of one such poster in the window of a cafe. It announced a new item, "gingerbread pancakes," and showed a picture of the item underneath. Pumpkin-flavored coffee took up the space beside it.

Akira wondered what Sojiro would think of that, then smiled when he realized he already did. "Is all that really necessary? Isn't normal coffee just good enough?"

Maybe so. But Akira could really go with something hot right now. He considered it but then decided against it. He would have to get home soon, or his parents would start throwing hissy fits. He would be suspicious to them for the rest of his life, probably. No matter how many times he'd had to remind them of his acquittal.

Beyond the poster tempting him to pancakes and coffee were groups of people enjoying a late-night meal. They were laughing, their conversation animated. Involuntarily, he imagined his friends in their place. Yusuke eating desperately, Futaba telling him off for it, Ryuji and Morgana fighting over some miniscule piece of food, Ann, Makoto, and Haru engaging in friendly chatter.

Akira felt a twinge in his chest when he remembered that it wasn't an unimaginable situation.

He sighed and shook away the feeling. He was visiting them for Christmas break. They'd all decided that already. There was no need to be getting down in the dumps about it. He took out his phone, feeling the need to--fill something, he wasn't sure what, when his phone vibrated in his hand. The screen lit up, but there was nothing on it. And then it happened.

A blue light.

It was automatic. He spun his whole body around, his eyes flying over the entire street (a steady stream of people, the smell of exhaust, the sound of music from open doors), until he caught the delicate, gently roaming butterfly as it climbed into the sky. The moon was full. Akira, wide-eyed, watched it disappear into its silvern rays.

He swallowed deeply, his throat parched, his heart beating. He didn't have more than a few seconds to wonder what it meant, when the whole street, filled as it was with pedestrians and cars minding their own business, exploded in blue.

 

\--

It was snowing in Tokyo, but Yu Narukami was safe indoors, enjoying a cup of hot plum sake and staring hard at his propped-up tablet screen. The heater in his dorm room was humming away.

The words reflected off his eyes, two squares of white in blue.

_By all means, avoid me. The time will come, one way or another._

_  
I WILL BRING YOU CLOSER TO THE TRUTH._

"Closer to the truth." Yu mouthed these words, resting his mouth against his clasped hands. It rung inside him, like an old song pulled from the mind's ether. What was this email? The sender's email address was just a jumble of letters and numbers. He was almost certain that, if he replied to it, it would be returned to him.

Spam? He unclasped his hands and folded his arms over his chest as he settled back in his dorm-regulation chair. He stared up at the ceiling. A smirk crossed his lips unbidden.

Unlikely.

He grabbed for his phone, thinking quickly through his options. Text Naoto, or Yosuke? The former would be useful in a practical search; the latter as a confidant and someone who would readily believe that something might be kicking up again. But both them might be busy. Yosuke was likely working at Junes at the moment, and Naoto could be doing anything (she never shared, beyond vague hints, the details of her cases). She might not even be in Tokyo.

He hesitated, and then set the cell phone back on the desk. No, he shouldn't. He could handle this. It could very well be nothing, after all. It'd been--years, since something had happened. He hadn't been waiting for anything, exactly, but--fighting shadows had had its charm. Life gained a greater importance that way.

And he'd missed everything that'd happened in Tokyo last Christmas. It'd perhaps been the worst time to study abroad ever.

"I will bring you closer to the truth," he read aloud one more time. His voice was soft, even though he was alone. As the RA, he didn't have a roommate.

What truth? They'd already reached that, surely. Inaba, Adachi, Izanami--that was all finished. What further truth was there to scour, lest this person meant the Phantom Thieves who, besides their leader, were still technically at large? He looked at the clock in the corner of the taskbar, having lost track of the time. 9PM. It was far from midnight. So, that wasn't the reason.

This whole thing was nostalgic, though. It encouraged his mind to drift to--well, not _happier_ times, per se, he didn't count himself currently _unhappy_ , but more active ones. It was as if he had floated through that school year as if in the fog of a happy dream. His memories of the Midnight Channel were all loud spikes of intensity, of his heart pounding in his ears. Everything was bright and sunny, but for those distorted moments of despair and darkness. It had fulfilled him as life had never before. Now he just went about trying to find that same hit.

No. He shook his head. He was still seeking his own truth and paving his own way. Igor had granted him that.

He was drawn from these reflections by his phone vibrating, made ten times more violent by being on a surface. He surfaced with a start. He didn't get a chance to see what it said before the screen faded to black.

A crack of laughter outside his open window. Then the loud thump of a body hitting the pavement and more laughter. It sounded like a bunch of drunk male college students. His favorite. Rolling his eyes, he got up to assess the situation, see who wasn't of age and who he had to bust. In these moments, he certainly wasn't the most popular. He glanced at his still steaming plum wine and accepted the irony as he downed the rest of it, suspecting he might not be able to enjoy it at his leisure.

  
He was at the window and leaning over the sill when, before even the pathetic, prostrate figure of a guy heaving could draw his attention, a flicker of something passed through his periphery.

A butterfly, burning as brightly as a blue flame. It crossed his line of vision, as unbothered by the wind and the cold as any inanimate object.

"What?" Yu had not lost any of his quick-thinking. It had not dulled with age, but had instead sharpened with experience. Reflexes prepared him to step back and reach for an old friend he had decorating the wall over his bed, but he was unable to complete the action. He was thinking about Igor when he was blinded, and his entire room flooded with blue light.

 

\--

The turn of events did not surprise Aigis. There were still shadows to be fought, after all. Time had not erased them fully, but events had dampened their strength.

Humans would always despair. That was the truth that she had learned.

She was unaffected by the cold. Whether it rained or snowed, the only change she felt was the inconvenience of a wet chassis and drenched hair. But that was fine. Being an android granted her opportunities her friends could not take advantage of. Endurance was necessary in her line of work. It took much to fatigue her.

She exited the Kirijo Building as blank-faced as she had entered it. There was no need to put on emotion around those she did not hold dear. The citizens of Iwatodai were not interested in her, anyway. They were completely absorbed in their own lives. Such anonymity, this swell of humanity, allowed her to stand beneath the overhang of the doorway and think.

Miss Kirijo had given her instructions. There was much to do and much to accomplish in so short a time. She was to go to Tokyo, where a disturbance had been detected, much like the one that had occurred last Christmas. It had been against Miss Kirijo's better judgment not to interfere at that time, but so entangled were those events with politics that she daren't cause further problems. As Aigis understood it, a vigilante group had brought the madness to an end.

It was familiar. That it was a coincidence was highly improbable. Still, she had not voiced her beliefs. It seemed unnecessary, for she was certain Miss Kirijo felt the same way. So, too, did Yukari. But they left it unspoken, as if they feared saying it would invoke something they could no longer engage with. Aigis believed it was "teamwork." They could no longer call upon everyone to fight it as a "team." Those days had passed.

But they could touch "this." A dark spot of shadows growing in the center of Tokyo. It had appeared suddenly this morning, and she was to act on it this evening. She would fly there under the cloak of night, which canvassed the cold sky above her head. She was not to engage with it, no matter what. Miss Kirijo had repeated this several times. Aigis had no intention on acting alone. It was strange that Miss Kirijo could not accept this. A human failing to trust the words of others, even when they spoke the truth.

It was time she was on her way. She would have to find an alley in which she could safely take-off. She pulled up a map of the city. There was one fitting that description exactly 56.9976 meters away. There was also an alert elsewhere: she had received a message.

A cold figure slid across her radar. She closed the map--she would check the message later--and watched as a blue butterfly twirled down to her. Yukari had taught her that this was beautiful. It certainly had an unearthly glow. She held out her hand for it and waited for it to settle like a snowflake on her fingertip.

It landed delicately. She sensed great power coming from it, much like what burned within the persona she bore. So, that it barely surprised her when seconds passed, and her surroundings froze, as if they had been paused by an ethereal remote, and her entire surroundings became awash with blue.

Aigis, who was unaffected by the rays, was audience to the change.

Everyone disappeared.


	2. Philemon, Nyarlathotep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of interest this has gotten. Sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations. Also, sorry if I get some details wrong. It's been a while for P3 and P4.
> 
> I try to edit, but I might miss some things. If I catch them later, I'll be sure to fix them.
> 
> EDIT: Oh! I forgot to mention, I'm going with Minato Arisato in this fic. Not because I think it's better or anything (I preferred Makoto Yuki for a while), but because there'd be two Makoto's, and that'd be confusing.

The street had emptied, as if every last person had been blinked out of existence. The cars stopped in their tracks and idled there, engines rumbling. Time did not stop wholly, just paused, or something like that. His surroundings seemed like a handful of frames looping, a handful of soundbites repeating themselves. Like a video game model trapped in a mobius strip of programmed functions. The wind blew in the same pattern, and Akira was still made cold by its breaths, but it didn't compare to the bucket of ice which had splashed against his innards. 

Lights flickered, all blue. All the same sickly blue. Computer screen blue. And the sky--like a horror show, green and purple and red and blue all swirling together in a vortex.  


Akira took an automatic step back. There seemed to be nowhere to go. 

_Bzz, bzz._

Akira nearly jumped out of his shoes. He'd almost entirely forgotten about his phone. He was gripping it tightly in his hand. As he unfolded his fingers, the text revealed itself.

_I WILL BREAK YOUR WINGS._

He didn't know what to do with that. It was a reference to his time as a phantom thief, right? Whoever had sent it to him knew intimately the details of the contract between himself and the false-Igor. This--hell zone, did it have anything to do with Yaldabaoth? But he had defeated him, right? It'd only been a year since then.

This had to be something else. He took a deep breath. Just like old times. One step, then another. He couldn't help the rueful thought that crossed his mind: if he could summon Satanael, then he had nothing to fear. He stared hard at the message. The sender had no name, nor was there a phone number attached to it. Just the message. He tapped it and was surprised that his phone was fully functioning and in his control. He had kind of expected it to be the same situation as when the Metaverse Navigator app had appeared on his phone the first time. No signal (of course), but other than that, his phone seemed normal. The only thing that stood out was that he had one new message. He frowned and opened it.

_Greetings. Turn to your left._

Akira did as he was told. There was not much else he could do.

He couldn't have missed it. Though the blue made every establishment look the same, all hard lines and dark shadows, the warm glow may as well have been an arrow. An orange flame, in direct contrast with its surroundings, burned in an old-fashioned, iron wrought lamp over the door of a restaurant. Its small radius created a barrier of light around the doorstep. He would have to cross the street to reach it. 

The blue butterfly circled around the lamp as if it were a mosquito, catching every glint. 

Akira carefully returned his phone to his pocket and crossed the street, wary gaze surveying every nook and cranny in his sight. Nothing jumped out at him. The "journey" was uneventful. He arrived on the blistering-warm doorstep within seconds. 

Why was it so hot? Was there a magic of some kind making it that way? He was already regretting wishing for warmth. He wiped a swath of sweat from the back of his neck and raised a fist to knock. The door opened inward with a creak before he could.

"Come in," said a soothing, low timber voice. It emitted from a wall of impenetrable darkness. Akira was liking his current circumstances less and less. He thought back wistfully to his gun. In lieu of that trusty stead, he kept his fist raised, pressed his back against an inner wall of the doorway, and thrust his other hand into the wall of black.

There was no impact. His hand remained, suspended in room-temperature air. Akira didn't allow himself to relax. Everything so far was a bad sign. He couldn't trust that _nothing_ was better than _something_. He eased his arm further in, and then suddenly he was falling.

\--

Katana in hand, Yu gingerly walked the empty campus, hunched over and ready to defend himself. His heart was a steel lump in his chest, his mind running a thousand miles an hour as he tried to explain the phenomenon. It was like he'd stepped into the TV word again, and this was someone's distorted internal world.

He didn't try to suppress the thrill at the thought. Still, he wished that the others were with him. It would be difficult alone, should something powerful rear its ugly head. They'd all "moved on," sure, but he knew--he knew they would come running just to do it all over again. 

He licked his lips. Izanagi was no longer in his control. It was just a part of him now. To summon him would be to rip him out. Yu wondered if he was a masochist, because he was pretty sure he would enjoy that. 

He checked his phone for the third time as he rounded another corner, drawing closer and closer to the administration building. He had never seen the campus so barren, not even in the week before college started up again and he was doing RA training. It was like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie. There was still no service, and the text which had greeted him when he first tried to use it was still there, demanding in all-caps to _FOLLOW ME._ The butterfly had obliged to be his guide. It was always keeping a few feet ahead of him, ducking and diving around corners, pulling him away from his dorm near the end of the campus and toward the front. He assumed it was Igor, or Margaret, luring him back to the Velvet Room, but why would they do it in this manner? Normally he would just--be there, if they truly needed him.

Unless something was keeping them from doing so. Yu had feeling that was likely the case.

He stepped out into the main quad and stopped short. The butterfly continued unfazed, fluttering over a writhing mass of darkness, which had taken root in the flagstone circle in the center of the quad. Yu wouldn't have been able to describe them well to anyone, even if he wished to. The closest thing he could akin them to was trees: oily, ever-moving trees, with branches flailing in the sky and knots morphing into various, anguished humanoid faces. It was a veritable forest, and all cast in the terrible, bluish glow that this--world had taken on. Yu's grip tightened on the handle of his katana. It would be easy to go around, there was plenty space between the grass and the other buildings, but he didn't trust them not to lash out. 

Still, he had to go forward. The butterfly had passed them untouched and had disappeared beyond them. Prepared to strike, he began his circle around the mass. He never took his eyes off them, but they seemed entirely unaware of him. Their faces stared up at the sky, mouths gaping at the swirling vortex. They reminded him of shadows. He wondered if they were.

He was on the other side and in one piece. He glanced quickly at the building--he had reached the back of the administration building--and was startled to see a back door lit by fiery light. Under its own personal eave, a bare bulb had turned the color of a bonfire. The blue butterfly hovered around it. It didn't look like the usual entrances to the Velvet Room. 

Out of the corner of his eye, a movement. He turned his head, and expecting an attack, thrust forward his katana, but it pierced nothing, and he was instead audience to a different sight, that of a black butterfly ascending into the sky. Yu watched it, unsure what it meant. He had never seen it before. 

And then:

"Come in." It was a voice low-register and penetrating. He turned around in time to watch the door open on its own.

\--

According to her systems, she was no longer in the normal world. She had been transported elsewhere, and there was no sign of life. Nothing came up on her infrared. It was all cold and inanimate. She unsheathed the barrels in her fingers but kept her hands at her side. There was no immediate threat, as far as she could sense.

Had she been brought into a sort of Dark Hour? It did not follow the usual rules. It must be entirely different or coincidental. Miss Kirijo had not mentioned detecting anything like this. It must have been an original occurrence. She considered her options as to how she would proceed. Much of her systems were entirely disconnected from the Kirijo database. 

She could contact no one. As it was, she chose to open the message last sent to her.

_YOU FAILED HIM._

Aigis felt a sting of discomfort, of what humans would call "despair." She had suffered through it enough times to recognize it. It was part of her "humanity." She now understood it was as crucial as "love." They came intertwined. At times, she wished it did not. 

"Are you trying to taunt me?" She demanded aloud. There was a chance the offender was somewhere within earshot. But there was no response. It remained quiet as an empty room.

"If you intend to harm this world, I will put an end to you. I give you fair warning." 

Almost as if in response, another message flashed across her interface. It read: _Come to me, and you will know_. Aigis could not fully trust it came from someone else, but the wording seemed to indicate as such. She would need to investigate further.

"How am I to do that?" she asked aloud, feeling that she would be heard. It seemed she was, for the blue butterfly appeared again, a creature she thought curious. It fluttered at eye-level before it glided away, exactly in the direction of the alleyway she had intended to make use of not minutes before. She followed, prepared to strike whatever tried to strike at her.

It appeared that its objective was the alleyway. It brought her there, guiding her into darker and darker corners, where this world made manifest moaning shadows, likely a base form of those that existed in the Dark Hour. They did not attack, so neither did she. The alleyway was bathed in blue but for a door, one that any would find in Iwatodai, lit by an unnatural, orange light, pointing to it as if from invisible spotlights. It bore the distinct energies of a persona, or something like it. The butterfly settled on the ground before it.

She took two steps toward the door, when a black butterfly crossed her vision. She stopped and watched it. It turned around her and brought her gaze toward the alley wall to her left. The shadows were heavy there and no detail of it could be distinguished. Nothing appeared in the infrared, but a voice spoke all the same.

"You dare to stand there, after all you've done... You, who brought about his sacrifice! If you had only been human, you may have taken his place..." The words were garbled, but Aigis had no trouble parsing their meaning. 

She was so overwhelmed with emotion she did not know what to say. She was not given much time for response, anyway. The door opened, she saw it do so out of the corner of her eye, and another voice, calmer, gentler, interrupted,

"Deny him. Please enter."

This was easily done.

\--

They hardly thought it was the Velvet Room they had stepped into. Each standing in their own version of this cut-off zone, it felt like it was _supposed_ to be the Velvet Room. That sweet voice, its owner always out of sight, still sang its unending song. The color of the place was still that deep, dark blue. But Igor's desk was gone. Neither Lavenza, nor Margaret, nor any other assistant, were there. Only one male figure was standing in the center of the room, lit by some warm, effusive light. He was dressed in white and wore on his face a mask, half of which was a blue and orange butterfly.

"Who are you?" asked Aigis, her systems unable to tell her anything about her surroundings. She could not recognize it, nor know its original form. For her, this removed zone was unlike anything she had experienced, beyond that moment in the stars. She felt, nonetheless, that she was destined to be here.

\--

Yu and Akira remained silent, though they each wondered the same thing.

\--

He swept his arm against his chest as he bowed. "Welcome. It's a pleasure to meet you. Forgive me for my late introduction. You know my servants, and you have done well by them. My name is Philemon, and I have watched your every move. You do not stand in the Velvet Room, as you know it, but in a form of it between conscious and unconscious. I am the source of the power you yield. Through Igor, I grant you persona. Long have I left the human world and let my servants enact my will. I return only out of necessity. I call upon you, who have proved yourself recently as those with a strong will. And you," Philemon said, speaking exclusively to Aigis, as his other forms continued on, "who act in a former contractor's stead. So that you are capable of those same heights, I grant you his." Aigis did not respond, but a pulse ran through her, as if her motor had become a human heart and beat out of rhythm. Something within her had changed. Athena's voice had gone, and in her place, something gentle and familiar, vast and burning with potential. 

"I have a request. You may not take it up, but I encourage you to do so. Though you have vanquished many darknesses, there is yet another to come. Humanity often suffers from moments of despair, but in isolation, they can be fought. Your world has been dealt many threats, and the human conscious has been made exhausted beneath them. It has allowed a weak spot, which has tempted an even greater darkness thither. He will come to make use of humankind for their ends. Seek him and defeat him. That is my request."

\--

"And why should I trust you?" Aigis said.

\--

"Alone?" Yu asked, uneasy.

\--

Akira found himself saying, "All right," before he could stop himself.

\--

Philemon's smile was benevolent, understanding. To Aigis, he said, "You need not, if you do not. Still, I will guide you. You may speak to my servant, Igor, who will act as my mouthpiece, should you feel he will soothe your concerns. I only ask you to give me the benefit of the doubt. Please, forgive me for all your suffering. I know it well."

To Yu, "Not alone. Alone, we are weak. Together, we have strength against life's many sufferings." And then, to Akira and Yu, "I regrant you your persona, as well as those gained by your companions. His evil will take many forms and will make efforts to seduce you. Only by the power that you have gained within--truth, freedom, acceptance--will you prevail. I wish you success. I will always be watching."

He bowed again. To three of them, it was as if their field of vision was shrinking, like they were passing out. Aigis's last conscious thought was a realization: _He had done nothing to stop it._

Akira and Yu were merely startled.

The room faded. When each awoke, they had returned to the real world, each standing in the real-life equivalent of where they had last been. 

\--

"Hey, you goin' in or what?" asked an obviously drunk, Yakuza-looking guy that was standing behind Akira, trying to get into the restaurant. Akira blinked hard and glanced about him. 

"Sorry," he said, jumping out of the way. The guy spat at his feet as sauntered in, followed by a couple. Akira stared, in a daze, before checking his phone. 

The messages were gone.

\--

College students passed by Yu, gawking at him inquisitively. He realized he was just standing in the middle of the quad, staring at a maintenance door. The night air was cold, and he wasn't wearing a coat. 

He realized he hadn't asked Philemon who _he_ was.

The Investigation Team needed to be reconvened, stat.

\--

Aigis could hear the world return to its normal motions, but her mind was far away from it. Standing in the trash-littered alley, she stared at the concrete beneath her feet. 

Had personas never been granted, Aigis would never have existed. Had she never existed, Minato would have never had to suffer as he did. 

Orpheus rested in her soul like a once-forgotten memory resurfaced. She was tempted to call it, but she resisted. Aigis shook herself free of these dark thoughts. If she had never existed, they would never have met. She was a person for having met him. She knew that. She had learned that. Forcing herself into more practical thoughts, she turned took-off, connecting to Mitsuru Kirijo's phone immediately.


	3. Akira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written a P5 fic, so my voices might be a bit off for some characters. My memory's gotten fuzzy on some of the details, too, so sorry for the things that I might get wrong!

Akira's first step was a sprint. He burst through the front door of his home, feeling like an icicle thrust into a furnace. He hastily shouted, "I'm home,” and lost precious time dislodging his boots from his frozen feet. He left them scattered about the genkan as he leapt into the main living space. His mother was waiting up in the living room, sitting on the couch with the television going, staring at her phone. She had begun demanding where he'd been the moment she'd heard him enter, but he completely ignored her and took the stairs to the second floor two-at-a-time. It was only when he was standing on the threshold of the door to his room, where he assumed Morgana was (having not seen him anywhere), that he gulped in a few steadying breaths and endeavored to rein himself in. Joker ( _Joker was coming back_ ) had to be cool. Akira had to be cool. He shoved his hands into the pockets of the pea coat he'd forgot to take off. He repositioned himself into a slouch, like the one he normally bore. He was still breathing a little heavy when he opened the door.

Morgana was fast asleep, curled up at the foot of his bed. He'd gotten into a habit of doing that when Akira was at school, or wandering the neighborhood if he wasn't. So much for being proactive in his search for humanity. He was just lazing his life away like any other cat. 

Akira did his best to contain himself, but there was a little more force than necessary when he nudged Morgana's butt. 

"Ahh!" Morgana was on his feet in an instance, his fur puffing and his paws splayed out beneath him. Oh. Akira'd forgot to say something before he'd woken him.

"Sorry," Akira said. "I've got news."

"Oh, it's you, Joker. Jeez, you could'a warned a guy!" Morgana raised his nose and began washing himself. Right, Morgana _wasn't_ a cat. Nothing about him was cat-like at all.

"I was summoned to the Velvet Room," Akira said, unable to suppress a tremor of excitement. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. 

"What?" Surprise seemed to shoot through Morgana like electricity. His fur puffed up even more. "What do you mean? Are you joking around?"

"Why would I?" Akira would've been irritated if his spirits weren't already through the roof. He fished out his phone before Morgana could even prompt him for proof and scrolled through his apps, looking for the Navigator app he was sure would be there. His heart sank in disappointment when he didn't find it--"Wait, so is the Navigator app thingy back on your phone?"--so he scrawled through a second time just to make sure. The result was the same. Nothing. He was questioning his sanity when his phone vibrated in his hand and a text message opened on his screen (that was hint enough that it wasn't normal).

_That world is His. It will find you when you are weak, or when you draw closer to the weakness of will in others. Prepare yourself.  
-Philemon_

"Joker! Are you listening to me?" Morgana was clawing at his arm. Akira flipped the phone around and shoved it in the cat's face.

"There," he said.

He had sort of expected more complaints, but Morgana went very still, instead.

"Oh no," he said.

Akira frowned. "What?"

"When did this happen?" Morgana's ears drooped. He was harshing Akira's buzz a little. "When did you--did you meet with him?"

"Basically, just now." Something did feel right. He was sure Morgana would be a little happy. It would mean--they would Phantom Thieves again, right?

"You need to tell me everything," Morgana said, as serious as he'd ever seen him.

\--

"Philemon is humanity at its best. He's basically the reason why we can summon personas. Still, he isn't someone to underestimate. He and I... We're connected in a way. I," Morgana paused, sitting on the shelf off the window near Akira's bed, "We, all us humans, know about him kind of subconsciously. You know, he's Master Igor's creator, so I guess he's kinda like my grandpa?" Morgana cocked his head, as if he hadn't thought about that fact until this moment. Akira, standing opposite of him, wondered if he would ever understand the origin of all this he had been pulled into.

"But he doesn't directly involve himself with humans anymore. He usually leaves it to Master Igor..." Morgana stared at his paws and fell into a reverie, from which Akira was eager to snap him out of.

"Who is 'he'? The one he wants us to seek out." 

Morgana didn't seem so sure. "It could be anything. But I think--'he' might be someone as equally powerful as Master Philemon."

"Is he as powerful as Yaldabaoth?"

"Oh, much, much more. Waaaay more!" If he was in his thief form, Akira was pretty sure he'd have stuck out his chest and put his paws on his hips. In lieu of that, he just swished his tail proudly. 

Akira grinned. 

"Then the other guy will be, too. Let's do this."

"Uh..." Morgana's ears went down again. "Are you sure, Joker? I mean, he's--he is a good guy, I think, but he's known to--what are you doing?"

Akira opened a group text so old he was surprised it was still in his phone. 

"Getting the gang back together."

\--

This was easier said than done. First off, nobody but Futaba responded immediately, and even then, it was mostly question marks and emoticons that indicated confusion.

It was difficult to text it all out, and by time everyone had answered his string of overview texts it was mid-morning of the next day, a Friday, during English. He was too impatient, he would just have to take a train back to Tokyo. When he told Morgana of his plan, the cat offered a tentative suggestion, "What about a group call, huh? Wouldn't that be easier?" but Akira was determined.

He wanted to go, anyway. He couldn't wait three weeks. They had to handle this now. It was lucky his parents were working, otherwise he'd have to explain his stayover in detail. Instead, he just called them each and ignored the painful ringing in his ears after all the yelling.

His mother'd just said something about him never getting into college and hung up, but his father had ended with a, "Fine! But if you pull the same shit as last year again, you're out of the house for good!"

"Yeah, yeah," Akira had mumbled. He knew. He'd heard it over and over again. He'd kinda hoped his freedom would've been freer, but rarely did problems wrap themselves up so easily. Pocketing some cash from his part-time job for the train fare, he left home with a duffel bag swung over his shoulder, Morgana whispering about this "being a bad idea" to him from the slightly open zipper.

It didn't occur to him to let Sojiro know he was coming until Morgana mentioned it. The call went about as well as his day had already--poorly.

"What? You're coming _right now_? Ch, you were scheduled for later, kid. What's all the hurry?"

"Business came up."

"Business that couldn't wait three weeks? This isn't," he dropped his voice, Akira wondered if he was working the cafe at the moment, or somewhere else public, " _that_ again, is it?"

"A little," Akira said, leaning back into his seat. The car was bustling with people beginning their weekend plans. Perhaps to Tokyo? The idea of being in the swell again caused another excitement-born palpitation.

Sojiro clicked his tongue. "I'm telling Futaba. Don't be surprised if they get in touch. You haven't told them, right?"

Akira didn't respond.

"I knew it. I'll be waiting at the cafe. Don't take too long. I'll buy some cat food."

Akira sighed. He hadn't exactly expected everyone to jump for joy, but they sure weren't offering him a warm welcome. He was transferring to another line when he received the swarm of texts from his friends, all in increasing levels of disbelief. They fed off each other, making it worse.

_Oracle: Are you srs abt coming here?!?! Sojiro just told me! >_<_

_Skull: What?? It's not winter vacation yet, dude!_

_Fox: Your earlier communications were not very clear. Is that why you are acting rashly?_

_Queen: You could have just called us!_

_Noir: Is everything all right, Kurusu-san?_

_Panther: Is Morgana there? Didn't he try and talk you out of it?_

"I tried, Lady Ann. I tried," Morgana muttered over Akira's shoulder, having moved up the bag so that he could peek his head out. Akira could feel him shaking his head. He tried to shove Morgana back inside, but he nipped at his hand and withdrew on his own.

 _It's important_ , Akira typed, peeved. _I'll explain it when I get there._

_Queen: I have class, but I'll try to come afterward. We will all meet at Le Blanc, yes?_

_Noir: I do, as well! I'm sorry for the bother._

_Panther: Yeah, we should do that. You better go right there, Joker! Got it?_

_Skull: Ah, man... Those guys are gonna be pissed. I might be a bit late, okay? Promise I'll be there!_

_Fox: I may, as well._

_Oracle: Roger Wilco! You can count on me! ~_^_

Akira responded with "okay." Still grasping his phone, he let his hand drop to his side. He stared at the ceiling. 

"I told you so," Morgana said. Akira didn't say anything. They were treating him like he'd lost his mind or something. It wasn't that odd for him, really. He just wanted to be on top of things. 

They weren't even using their code names anymore. 

Akira sighed. He rested his head against the window behind him and closed his eyes. He had one more transfer, but he was suddenly tired. The text Philemon had magically sent was gone, so he had no way of proving it to the others. He only had Morgana's skepticism at his back. They--wouldn't believe him, would they? He felt a stab of disgust in himself as the thought crossed his mind. It was almost a betrayal, the way he really believed it for the second it took hold of him. As if they hadn't fought side-by-side with him against a god, when they could have run at any point.

He sighed again. It came out in a puff of white air. His eyes closed, Morgana burrowed into his clothes, neither saw it. Nor did they notice the train darken, then lighten, as if they were going through a tunnel, when the trip was primarily over ground. In one of those light moments, a writhing shadow passed over him, as if he was submerged in the sea, but vanished long before he would have the chance to notice it.


	4. Yu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really struggled with this chapter. So, there might be more typos than usual. Bleh.

The ambrosia of charm flowed from Yu's lips; it was for this reason alone that his katana wasn't confiscated. It was unfortunate for him that campus security was out and about at the exact hour that they shouldn't, but he was careful and considerate, and overall well-liked, that they shrugged it off with head-shakes and general finger wags. He returned to his dorm with his head full of what to do next, and how to go about it. His initial conundrum held: to call Naoto, or Yosuke?

He decided on them all.

It was impressive that they all picked up. He half-expected only a few.

"'Sup, partner! How's it hangin'? Why you callin' so late?" It was Yosuke who spoke first, his voice ringing loud and clear through Yu's blue-tooth speakers. He had them on a group call. He hoped it had connected right. It had happened so suddenly that none of them had opted for video. He was just staring at his wallpaper.

"Woah, Yosuke? Is this a group call? What's the deal?" It sounded like the others were going to talk, but Chie barreled through their quick breaths.

"Ahhh! It's been so long! Oh my god, guys, hello! You especially, senpai!" Rise had deigned to go to college in lieu of being an idol, a passion that had ranked up as time had gone on, so there was no school connection between the two of them anymore. It was weird she still called him that. He didn't really have the heart to tell her to stop.

"This call will have to be quick. I am not currently able to talk long." Yu had a feeling Naoto was doing something dangerous, as usual. It always made him anxious to think about what she wasn't telling him. 

"It's like ten, senpai," Kanji wasn't much better, "what's up?"

"I'm going to have to back to work soon," Yukiko said apologetically. "Is something happening?"

"It must be, for you to call us out of the blue like this!" Teddie's pep was infectious. The weight of Yu's meeting with Philemon had been weighing on him. It lifted as if Teddie had been there to physically remove it. He knew he could count on them. No matter what.

He considered his words carefully. "I think we have another problem."

"What does that mean?" If Yu listened carefully, he could hear the generic Junes music playing in the background of Yosuke's call. He shouldn't keep any of them too long. They were all moving forward. There was no need to mire them in this stuff longer than necessary.

"Something's coming, and I think it might be even more trouble than before. I can't do it alone. Can I depend on you guys?" 

"You're gonna have to give us more than that!" Chie said.

"Do you have the time for it?" Yu checked the time. It'd only been a handful of minutes, but he felt the pressure of the people on the other end. Though he was no longer their "leader," he still felt like he bore the responsibilities, especially now when they may need to fall back into those old roles.

What followed was a shared "hmmm" that was almost in stereo. Yu reeled back from it in surprise. 

"I _might_ have time for more details," Naoto said, and Yu couldn't help but smile.

\--

He and Rise agreed to meet up the next day, but everyone else couldn't leave their universities or jobs on such short notice. Yu hadn't expected them to. That Rise had decided to make time in her busy schedule was more than enough.

"If you think this Philemon is trustworthy, then we need to begin a real investigation as quickly as possible," was Naoto's response over everyone else's "wow's" and "that's insane's." A thoughtful pause followed between that and her next statement, which Yu wondered at. "It's been quiet. Besides what happened in Tokyo last Christmas, there hasn't been anything quite like what happened in Inaba. I'll try my best to look into possible leads. Noon tomorrow works for me. How about everyone else?"

There was general agreement, and so it was decided that Rise and himself would meet in one of quiet corners of Yu's college library. It wasn't safe to meet anywhere more public and too suspicious to take her to his dorm room. Risette was even more popular than before. She was well-recognized by the male population on campus. And so, Yu found himself leaning against the outside of the library, near the doors, staring at his phone and waiting for the text that announced her presence. The campus was bustling, as usual. As it was lunchtime, college students were off to the commons or to some place local. People looked at him as the passed into the library to get some school work done.  
She should've been there already. It was almost noon. Something must've happened.

"Senpai!" Rise's distinctive, high-pitched shriek pulled him away from his phone. Dressed in a white, fur-lined coat and black pants, her hair was up and disguised by a beanie, and her large eyes were hidden behind black sunglasses. She really stood out. The layer of snow from last night was thin on the ground and not enough to blind anybody. It seemed so obvious to him that it was her that he was surprised she'd made it this far. He returned his phone to his pocket and stepped away from the building.

"You made it," Yu said as she came to a halt in front of him, bending over and gripping her knees to catch her breath. He tried to ignore the fact he had expected her to hug him, but he was glad she didn't. It would create unnecessary awkwardness.

"I'm so sorry," she said between breathless gasps. "I was dropped off further away than I thought I would be, and I got lost! This place is so confusing!"

Yu smiled. "If you'd told me, I could've helped out."

"I was too busy running." Rise straightened and returned a lock of hair which had escaped her hat back to its proper place. "You don't think they'll be mad, right?"

"Not if we go now," Yu said, and he led her inside. Rise kept her head down and her sunglasses on as she talked, but she was safe from any notice. No one was looking for an idol in a college library. There was no need to even be suspicious. If anyone had an inkling that they recognized her, glancing up from their papers and projects, it was only an inkling.  
They had more important things to do, after all. 

"It's been so long," Rise was saying as they climbed the back stairwell as an extra precaution. "You look different, senpai! I like the new haircut. It looks great on you."

Rise still couldn't help flirting, but unlike when they were in high school, it didn't bear the same weight. It was just how she talked to him. He'd learned to let go of the embarrassment years ago.

Yu ran a hand through his hair self-consciously. It was a bit shorter up top and in the front. It was a change he'd made a couple years ago, just after he'd seen Rise in person last.

"You're always so modest." Rise giggled, a little "hee hee." Their short conversation ended as they entered the third floor of the building. The building was new construction, so everything had that modern, boring look to it. There were wooden and cloth chairs scattered about, joined by tables round and rectangular. In the middle of the floor was a collection of desks with partitions, where students were pretending to study on their laptops. The bookshelves were floor-to-ceiling and metallic. 

"This way," Yu whispered. He led them to an unoccupied corner of the library, where they could sit next to each other in two plushy armchairs and place Yu's laptop on the low table between them. He set it up as quickly as possible, feeling the three minutes late that they were, and felt it even more when he was inundated with video calls the moment he signed into the program. It took him a bit to deny them all to send out a group request. Rise had her hands together in his periphery and her eyes squinted in pre-prepared apology.

"What took you so long?" Yosuke demanded, his window appearing first. There was just a gray, concrete wall behind him, which Yu assumed meant he was in a back stairwell at Junes. He'd cut his hair. Yu hushed him as he began moving their windows around so that he could see everyone. 

"Sorry," Rise said, softly. "It was my fault. I got lost."

"Where are you guys?" Kanji--new glasses--leaned in close, uncomfortably close, to the camera on his laptop, as if that would make any difference. For that reason, Yu couldn't tell where _he_ was, either.

"Ugh, Kanji, don't do that," Chie said, her background a blue sky. Her hair was shorter. I guess she felt the need, now that she was a police recruit.

"So gauche," Teddie said, sighing and shaking his head. He was sitting to Yosuke's left, in human form. There was something even more...glowing about him than last time. He was the only one who'd stayed unchanged. Yu wondered if that would always be the case. He wasn't _really_ human, after all.

"We're at senpai's school and a library, so please be quiet!" Rise glanced around her, as if sure they'd already been overheard. 

"Understood. We should get down to brass tacks. I only have thirty minutes." It seemed like Naoto, dressed in a business suit, was sitting somewhere in a police station. That was just the vibe Yu had about her surroundings, though the camera was angled so that only a window with a view of an oak could be seen.

Everyone nodded. It was a shame they couldn't take time to catch up.

"I did some digging." Naoto picked her phone off the table and began going through it. "But I couldn't find anything substantial. Tokyo's crime rate is fairly consistent, so nothing stood out in any of the reports I could get a hold of. And no one has mentioned anything strange, at least those on the lower ends. I can't speak for any of the higher ups. But I did find something."

She pointed her phone, screen-facing, at the camera.

"This website."

The background was a deep purple with yellow text at the center. It read: _HA HA HA. LIFE A JOKE? 345-2123._

"The design is definitely simple." Yukiko was sitting primly in her kimono, a bamboo screen at her back. She looked very mature, now, like a flower fully bloomed.

"Is that a phone number?" Chie squinted at it.

"Yes. I've yet to text it. I wanted to wait until we had our meeting." Naoto withdrew her phone. 

"Where did you hear about it? I mean, is it, like, one of those cursed things?" In the meanwhile, Yosuke and Teddie had been fighting for space, pushing and shoving each other out of sight. Yosuke had his elbow to Teddie's chest, and Teddie had his elbow to Yosuke's.

"Something like it." Naoto stared at her phone's screen. "I went searching through social networking sites, and this was the most recent thing I saw discussed. It very recently appeared. I still don't know where the rumor originated. Apparently, if you text this number, you disappear."

"What? Like, go missing?" Kanji had settled back in his chair. It looked like he was in his dorm room. He'd gone to an art school.

"Is it big with high schoolers? Because I've never heard of it." Rise asked.

"Do you sense anything, Teddie?" Yu rested his chin on his clasped hands. To this, Teddie cast a critical blow to Yosuke's stomach--"Shit, dammit, Ted!"-- and filled his window. 

"I'd have to see the website, to be honest. But even from here, if it had anything to do with over there, I'd be able to sense a little bit. It doesn't seem like it has anything to do with the shadows, though."

Yu was bringing up the website as Teddie spoke, based off the URL he got a glimpse of before. _liveforever.com_. Yu didn't know much about the internet, but he had a feeling that website should've been taken already. He couldn't scroll down. He couldn't find anything suspect about it, at all. It just looked like a website for a weird hotline.

"There hasn't been any increase of missing persons in Tokyo, at least not yet. But I don't think this is a coincidence. You are sure you couldn't find that suspicious email?" Though Yu understood her words weren't meant to relay doubt, just a need to cover all bases, he couldn't help but be affected by the thought. He pressed his lips tightly together. What had happened yesterday was beginning to feel like a vivid dream.

"Hey, Naoto, ease up. We believe you, senpai. We got your back," he heard Kanji say. He realized he'd been staring at the website and spacing out. 

"Yeah, you've never lied to us before. We owe you everything." Chie offered him a forceful thumbs-up and a wink.

"No," Yu said, unable to shake the feeling entirely. He moved their windows in front of the website. "It'd just disappeared."

"They've gotta be related, then, right? An email kinda threatening you disappears, and a website that _makes_ you disappear when you text the number on it? I mean, Naoto's right, no way that's a coincidence," Yosuke had regained some ground. Only Teddie's legs were visible, with Yosuke keeping him at bay with an arm.

"Then what should we do?" Rise played with her hair nervously.

"Should we text it?" Yukiko said.

_Zzt._

Yu blinked. He swore...

"I mean, where do you think you go, if you do disappear?" Yosuke glanced to his right. The sound of footsteps and laughter echoed off the walls. He didn't continue, though it looked like he had intended.

"I mean, that guy gave us our personas back, right? As long as we’ve got ‘em, we'll be all right." Kanji had never lost that brash confidence. 

Chie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but what if we _can't_?"

"We would--" Naoto's voice came out garbled and distorted. Without warning, every video chat window closed. Rise let out a gasp beside him. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as the website filled the screen. He moved his hand to the touchpad automatically.

 _I warned you_ replaced the number. In the next instance, Yu's laptop was smoking. Then, it was in flames.


	5. Aigis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter. Oh, and just as a note, I'm not including The Answer in this story. Mostly because I haven't played it or seen it played. I'm also not a big fan of Yukari's actions or the whole Metis thing. So, uh...yeah?
> 
> EDIT: Oh yeah, forgot. So, about that timeline. In the spirit of Persona 5, which takes place in 20XX, if I remember correctly, I'm going to assume (because I want Yu and friends to be in college) that P5 takes place in mid-2010, as opposed to 2017. Also, Yukari must be taking _forever_ on that bachelor's.

"You're sure?" 

Tokyo's skyline glittered like spotlights in a muggy, dark room. It was midnight and snowing. Aigis estimated twenty minutes until she needed to land. The distance between Tatsumi Port Island and Tokyo was sizeable, but the hours had been diminished by her recent upgrades. Such additions were absolutely necessary, for neither the Kirijo group nor Aigis could tell when a flight between Hokkaido and Okinawa could be a matter of life or death. This was now her daily living: waiting for, or acting upon, directives given by the Kirijo shadow organization. It had replaced S.E.E.S. all but in name. Though the Dark Hour had been vanquished, darkness could still be found lurking in all corners of Japan. The shadows themselves changed form wherever they manifested, and Miss Kirijo was always trying to find a way to combat them. It had resulted in the Kirijo group's complete monopolization of the Japanese archipelago. All done in his name, so that the actions of S.E.E.S. would not be in vain.

Aigis, whose mind was distracted by these ruminations, responded to Miss Kirijo's voice in her head, "Yes. But I don't know if I want to trust him."

"I'm not sure if we should, even if he is telling the truth. Arisato never mentioned him. But I suppose that's not saying much. We never did know _what_ he was doing." Miss Kirijo chuckled in a fond way. "We shall see how far that truth extends when you're required to summon your persona. Still, I can't imagine it was a coincidence that once you disappeared off our radars, the shadow activity in Shibuya skyrocketed. Our agents on-site are sure they haven't noted any civilian assaults yet, but I'm concerned we are moments away from one. There's been no update on that website, either. How far off are you?"

Aigis needed only seconds to calculate the distance. She was fast approaching the coast, forced to take circuitous ship routes to avoid detection by air traffic control. "35 kilometers."

"Good. Be careful, and _promise_ me you'll land at the safe-place," Miss Kirijo sounded somewhat long-suffering on the word "promise." Aigis understood that "rash" was a term sometimes applied to her personality. It could not be helped, for surely, it was her duty to act upon what she thought best and not tarry? She did not hesitate like Junpei, nor had she been initially programmed with foresight. Experience had taught her some of it, but it was still in the nature she cherished to be quick in all things.

"You doubt that I will?" She rose over Urayasu and ascended into the clouds, continuing her flight beneath plane traffic. She knew that she was over Urayasu more from her internal GPS than from what she saw. The clouds were impenetrable, and if it weren’t for the moments of black sky, she would have considered herself in a white-out. 

"Aigis, if I've learned anything, it's that I can't trust you to take care of yourself." Aigis could hear the minute sounds of rustling hair. She was shaking her head. 

"I am better than I was."

Edogawa. 

"Just barely." 

Aigis imagined she was smiling. The wind picked up, and what followed was Miss Kirijo's voice, muffled impossible to understand. Aigis squinted against this gale, checking for wind speed but unable to do more than scan the results. She tried to glide downward but discovered that the drafts were as terrible low as they were high. It didn't make sense. Not a few kilometers ago, all had been largely calm. Where had this storm come from? Communications down, her chassis shaking as if would come undone any moment, she pushed forward with all her might. She slammed into walls of wind, was caught off-guard by opposite-moving drafts from those she had been riding, and was tossed left and right as if she was a leaf. It was as if she had dropped into a hurricane.

Her UI was having difficulty functioning. All resources were poured into staying upright and conscious. She struggled to maintain the map and to ensure that she was still being tracked on it. That was not consistent, that came and went, and before she knew it she was above Shibuya itself. Battered and strained to the limit, she made one last effort to break through the cloud cover. She dove face-first, locking her entire body so that she would proceed in missile-formation. She surfaced over the city-central with barely enough strength to prevent herself from plummeting to the concrete below. Humans would call the action "auto-pilot," the unlocking and firing of her boots to upright herself, but this statement was a gross generalization. Technically, all her functions were auto-pilot. She understood, however, the intention. She let her programming take over and ceased to think so as not to inhibit the process. 

Once she had regained control, she saw that she was a couple kilometers over the Cerulean Tower. Shibuya was white with snow. Red was the primary color, emergency lights blinking everywhere. Snow trucks trundling down the streets. Distance shrunk the people milling about to the size of ants. Aigis breathed to cool her overheating systems. Warnings were bright in her mind. She needed to land soon. The safe-place was in Sakuragaokacho. She wouldn't make it. She would have to land elsewhere. Her gaze swept desperately over the buildings, searching for some unused location, though she knew it would be impossible to find. The outpour of humanity from Shibuya Station did not cease despite the weather. 

Shibuya Station. She could not drum up the energy to analyze the dark mass that hovered over it. It was like heat over sidewalk. 

"Threat," Aigis managed, "located." She hoped that she could be heard. She had not dropped the commlink, though she could not hold it much longer.

She began to descend despite herself, her joints popping and hissing with the strain of keeping herself in the air. It was like she was being drawn toward the train station, a building magnetized. 

_They won't come._

Throb.

_You're the only one left._

Throb, throb. 

_They've all forgotten him._

Aigis grasped her head. Pain shot through her metallic skull. Flashes of them--together, smiling over dinner--pressed against her head as if the memories wanted to burst free. Minato was laughing. Ken was talking with Aragaki. Beneath the dim lighting of the dormitory, the scene looked unreal, a picture that never was.

She hadn't seen any of them in months. Ken and Koromaru spent their time together. Junpei worked, Akihiko boxed, Yukari was in Tokyo, Fuuka at her master's (she often lent a helping hand to the organization when their hands were tied). Only herself and Miss Kirijo actively carried the torch.

No. Minato would have _wanted_ them to live. Aigis grit her teeth against the onslaught of poison. 

The mass of shadows seemed to have realized she was there. They appeared, all one creature with many eyes, reaching out eyeball-slicked arms, hundreds and hundreds of arms. She initiated her guns, but it was too late.

The arms enclosed her. She was swallowed whole.


	6. Rekindling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So, some commenters made good points, and I thought I should address them generally. So, this story may not be a 100% canon compliant. That includes timeline and the Answer. I might twist some things to fit my needs, so it's technically an AU, I guess. I didn't want to include the Answer, for a more specific reason than those mentioned before, because it would make Aigis's part redundant! Haha. Also, because I'm excluding the Answer, why Aigis was summoned by Philemon will be answered by other means. But still, I forgot to say that he gave her the Wild card, so I went back and added that in. I know, very professional.

Akira stepped off into Shibuya Station and was startled by the wave of claustrophobia that washed over him. He paused outside the train doors as they closed, felt the rush of the train leaving the station behind him, and enjoyed the strange combination of Deja vu and nostalgia. Nothing had changed, bar a few posters and some refurbishment happening in a couple sections. He'd forgotten what it was like to be in Tokyo. He'd have to reacclimate to the constant rush. 

He was perking up; he could feel it. Sure, this adventure hadn't started well, but his luck could easily turn around. He rolled his shoulders and stood straighter. 

"Next stop--Yongenjaya," Morgana whispered in his ear. He yawned. "That was a good nap."

"Glad you enjoyed it." Akira smiled as he crossed the platform and took the stairs down to the underground walkway. It was a Friday, and therefore packed. He could barely walk without brushing against somebody's shoulder. There were several high school students milling about, parting ways at gates or waiting for their trains. Akira found he was trying to pick out Shujin uniforms. He didn't see any. Not that he expected any of the former thieves to be there. Or any of his former classmates. 

"Excuse me." An elderly lady tapped against him. He bowed his head and apologized as she passed by. She must be from out of town. 

"Come on, Joker, we should get going," Morgana urged. Akira complied. He easily maneuvered his way through the crowd, even as he scrolled through the group texts on his phone. He decided to send a "I'm in Tokyo" out to everyone, just so they wouldn't make a fuss. He was in the middle of that when a shadow crossed his periphery. He halted and turned his head. He had wandered by an open-air exit. The sky was a blinding white, and there was snow in the planters of the square outside. Breezes brought in cuts of cold air. People had their heads bowed against it. But what caught Akira's eye was something that no one paid any mind to.

The back of a tan overcoat. A slender frame. Long, brown hair.

Akira's eyes widened. 

"Hmm? Something up?" Morgana peeked his head out of the duffel bag but was tossed violently back inside when Akira took off at a run. He could hear people cry out around him, but with cat-like grace he avoided each and every city-goer as he chased after the departing figure. It--he--crossed the top of the stairs and disappeared off the left of the exit.  


Akira managed these stairs three steps at a time. He could hear Morgana rattling away, his meows of complaint, and then felt him eventually leap out of his confines the moment Akira rushed off to the left and came to a screeching halt in the middle of the sidewalk. 

"Woah, is that a cat?" cried a well-dressed twenty-something passing by, flinching in surprise at Morgana's dramatic landing. He kept close to Akira's legs for protection against the crowds.

"What's going on? Is there something dangerous out here?" 

But Akira was hardly listening. There was no sign of Akechi anywhere. Akira pressed a hand against his brow, slightly damp with perspiration. He blinked a couple times.

"Joker?" Morgana rubbed against his legs. "You seem distracted. Let's just get to LeBlanc, okay? Sojiro can make you a coffee. That'll cheer you up."

Akira licked his lips. I saw Akechi, ran through his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He must've been seeing things. That was the only way. He'd slept fine last night. There wasn't any reason...

"Sorry," he said, finally, putting on a smile. "You're right. It was nothing. I just thought--I saw somebody I knew."

"Really? Like who?" Morgana was looking at him sharply, but Akira only knelt (much to disconcertion of passersby) and opened his duffel bag again. Morgana chose to leap up it and onto his shoulder, where he settled, his tail draped over Akira's clavicle. "You know, I'm not just a normal cat. I know a thing or two. You gotta confide in me sometimes."

"I know," Akira said, straightening and smirking at the oo's and aw's he received by girls walking by. "I'm just a little high strung. It's really not a big deal."

"If you're sure..."

Akira flicked the tip of Morgana's tail as a sign of reassurance. He turned back the way he'd come and was on the precipice of reentering the station, when he noticed that a crowd of people had formed around a tree on the other side of the square. Their backs were a perfect barricade, so he couldn't make out their icon of interest.

"I wonder what's goin' on over there." Morgana clawed painfully onto Akira's head and balanced there with perfect poise. Akira's neck quaked with the pressure of his weight. 

"What're they googlin' at?" mimicked a guy in a gray sweater to his friend as they passed by Akira.

"I heard somebody say there's a robot over there?"

"Like, seriously? What the hell..."

The guy in the gray sweater trailed off. Akira and Morgana looked at each other.

"Now, we _gotta_ check it out."

Akira nodded. Morgana returned his shoulders, as he strode over to the murmuring crowd. At first, he couldn't find a space to slip through and rocked back and forth on his tiptoes, but eventually a mother and her son disengaged from the horde and Akira hurriedly replaced them. 

"Have the police been called?" was one the murmurings of the crowd he now tried to force his way through, unabashedly pushing and shoving his way to the front. Morgana clung stubbornly to his shoulder. It hurt like hell.

"I guess so. Somebody just found it an hour ago, I think."

"Do you think it's a prank?"

"Maybe it's street art..."

Akira inhaled the cold fresh air as he emerged from the center of the beast, grateful for winter days. He had begun sweating again. The pocket of steamy air created by the mass of bodies pressed together wasn't pleasant. 

But that all went away when he saw it. Covered about 40% by the shrubbery around the tree (it had clearly been pulled out to get a better look) was something Akira would call a robot. Or, more like an android. Its face was eerily human, its blue eyes wide open and dead to the world, its "hair" a shock of blonde and its body a full, one-piece mimicry of a white garment. It seemed impossible to Akira that anyone could have missed it. It must've been planted there just before someone found it. 

Well, the shrubbery looked really pulled back. It must've been completely covered before...

"How'd they find it?"

"Some old lady saw its leg sticking out. I dunno where she went, though..." a duo of middle school girls said next to him. 

"Is that a cat?" came from elsewhere.

"Joker," Morgana said in a low voice. "Something's weird about that thing."

"Like what?" Akira kept his voice at a bare whisper. He glanced around carefully as he spoke. He was getting...odd vibes. He felt a little strange looking at it. The eyes bothered him. They seemed too soulful for unhumanity. 

"It feels different. I don't know how to describe it. Like, it's got real energy." Morgana's tail was twitching against his clavicle.

"Like a shadow?" Its eyes were like the sea on a clear, summer day. Akira checked the tree above it, which he had only glanced at briefly, to fight the power it had over him. It made him nervous. The tree wasn't in good shape. Its branches were broken and hanging from a splinter. The force needed to do that would have to be equal to a storm, which Akira was sure hadn't happened in the last couple hours. 

"No. More positive than that?" And then Morgana's tail went straight. "Akira!"

"What?" 

But it was too late to do anything. Akira hadn't sensed it, there was no cue, no text, to prepare him to be blinded, but it hit him all the same. Bright blue rendered his vision useless for a moment. It dissipated quickly this time, however, and the world revealed itself to have transmogrified into that shadowy, navy blue space where there were no people and no sense of time. 

"Wh-Wh-What's going?" Morgana jumped down from his shoulder and made a 360-degree turn. 

"It's what I was talking about." Akira tried not to feel vindicated, but he totally did. 

"And you _didn't_ use the app?" Morgana seemed more nervous than Akira had expected him to be. There was no butterfly this time, so only they moved in normal motion. Everything else continued to loop, even the faraway sound of a subway train rushing off. There was a rumbling and hissing, too, which Akira attributed to the sounds Tokyo would make if there were less people in it, and the idling buses and automatic doors took center stage. The effect of human silence was a lot more profound in Tokyo. When Akira craned back his neck, he could see a murder of crows repeat the same aerial swoops. The buildings were like cold, hard slabs of stone above. 

"No." Akira's survey of the area eventually landed on the robot, which remained where it had been. 

"Oh, this is bad..." Morgana mumbled, fur standing on end. "This has to be related to whoever Philemon was talking about."

"Are we in a palace?" Akira's clothes hadn't changed. He felt vulnerable knowing that. 

"I'm not sure. It seems kinda like one, but..." Morgana meowed pitifully. "I wish I didn't look like this! I dunno if I can do anything!"

"Don't worry about it." Every muscle in Akira's body tensed. Could he even summon his persona here? The rumbling and hissing was growing, which stood out in this otherwise unmoving space. He clenched his fists, prepared to do--something.

"Shadows! They're coming!" Morgana cried, and though Akira didn't recognize them as the shadows he used to see, he was fully aware the wave of oil with thousands of eyes pouring in all sides must be one of them. Akira had the presence of mind to recognize the sound of rustling behind him. 

"Stand back," said a deep, feminine voice. Before Akira could see its owner, he felt a steel grip tug him backward and a blur of white and yellow speed past. It left the scent of burnt metal in its wake. Morgana shot into the planter with Akira, and they watched together, gawping, as the robot ascended into the sky in one, fiery burst from its feet, spun around, and pointed its arms at the ground.

"Get down!" she shouted. Both Akira and Morgana followed her orders naturally and ducked as the sounds of bullets rained down around them. The shadows had gained ground but now retreated, at least from what little he could see of them, cowering as he was. That was wrong--he needed to help. He looked up and saw that she had landed again and was firing at them in circles. A real-life android. 

"Joker, what--?" 

Akira didn't give Morgana a chance to finish the question. He leapt back onto the concrete, placed his hands to his face, and concentrated on the image of Arsene, forever burned into his mind.

 _Ha-ha! So, you wish to summon me again? If that is your will, so be it! Release thyself from the chains of normality!_ Arsene's words echoed in his mind, as if dredged up from the guilty parts of his very soul. Akira's heart soared, and grinning so hard he looked a little maniacal, he dug his nails into his cheeks and forehead and pulled. The blood poured out quickly, but behind him he sensed the all-consuming presence of his persona. 

"Woah! So, you _can_ do it!" Morgana sounded both in awe and relieved. "Get 'em, Joker!"

The android had ceased her barrage of attacks. She was staring at him blankly. 

"Can do." Joker pointed, and Arsene obliged. A burst of molten flame burst forth from behind him and seared the mounds of shadow that had begun creeping closer again. They seemed to melt, but more scaled the remains, and Akira sent out more commands. Behind him, Morgana shouted, "Zorro!" and its dark figure joined the fray. Their attacks resulted in sweeping devastation, but it did not quell the swarm. More and more came. 

The android didn't move. It seemed to have been struck senseless. Akira spotted a wave of shadow coming up on before she did. "Watch out!" he cried and booked it toward her. He skidded to a halt beside her as Arsene swept in and laid waste to the attacker. Flames singed the concrete, but it remained in one place, as if the station square and nearby road had been drenched in gasoline. Morgana was keeping them at bay behind them. 

"You are a persona user," she said, without offering a bit of thanks.

"You know?" Akira managed breathlessly, trying to focus on her and directing Arsene. There were too many of them, or too much of It, whatever It was. He was out of practice. He didn't know how much longer they could hold out. 

"I do." She paused as Arsene destroyed another wave that tried to overtake them. "I am damaged, but I will," when Akira turned around, his eyes exploded to the size of dinner plates, she had her fingers to her head, as if she was going to shoot herself, "try my best."

She hesitated, and then fired. "Athena!"

A helmeted, female persona brandishing a spear rose behind her, and for the first time, Akira realized his world was very small. There were more persona users out there. Not just the Phantom Thieves, or Akechi. And this android was one of them.

"Athena" held up her spear and dove into the shadow. Time stood still as she seemed to be consumed by the darkness, but then there was the sound of tearing, and the shadow was torn into shreds. Athena revealed herself in the center of the storm of mutilation, her strike had impossible range, the shreds of shadow flew everywhere, and Akira was watching it in awe when he felt something cold touch him.

His vision went black. There was someone's voice in his ear, telling him to shut up, shut up, give in, give in, give in. His whole body was an icicle. He couldn't think--he couldn't--

And then he had returned to the frozen Tokyo. The android was standing before him. Morgana was at his feet, calling his name.

"Joker! Joker, are you okay? Answer me!"

Akira blinked several times. The mass of shadow was gone. Their personas had vanished.

"I'm okay," Akira said. "What happened?"

"A piece of the shadow touched you, and you just froze!" Morgana sighed in relief. "She did get rid of it for you, by the way! We're safe."

Akira couldn't avoid making eye contact with the android. Those blue eyes were strikingly alive now. "Thanks. How did you--?"

"I healed you. Thank you for coming to my rescue. I am Aigis."

Aigis...

"Please forgive me, however. I cannot help you any further. I have reached my limit." Without any further warning, she collapsed, and the world return to normal in one blink of the eye. They were in the middle of square now. People were crying, "What the heck? Is this a magic show?" all around them. Akira knelt and tried to lift Aigis up, but was startled by how heavy she was. It was as if she was made from a huge block of marble. 

"Aigis," Akira hissed, but she didn't respond. Morgana huddled close, trying to protect her from onlookers as much as he could. He decided he was going to have to drag her when he received a text message. He didn't know why he checked his phone at that moment, when there were more important things to worry about, but he did.

_A tempted will is nearby. Seek it out, and you will find him._


	7. A Call for Help

Yu Narukami wouldn't say he missed it aloud, the slow, comfortable burn of a mystery and those sudden deaths that pushed their lives along. He had always been surprised at the longevity of that itch, the need deep down to have it again, when everyone else were more comfortable letting it go. Even Yosuke, who had been his partner in that feeling, had eventually stopped talking about it all-together. His future in management was pretty secure, after all. He was a bit excited about it. Whether he would be at that forever, well--"Dunno yet. We'll see how it goes."

Yu only had vague ideas about what to do with himself. He studied forensic science without much passion. He'd thought he would, but his classes mostly brought up memories of a more active time, when he'd felt, and seen, his direct actions amount to something bigger than himself. Now, they didn't. He was just like any other college student, and he hardly saw his friends more than once a year.

As his laptop went up in flames, he felt all that humdrum go up with it. He yanked back his hand, hissed as the flames licked the flesh and left first-degree redness, and was on his feet immediately.

"Senpai!" Rise shrieked.

Yu didn't have time to do more than rip off his coat and muffle the laptop with it. He pressed down hard on it, his heart hammering in his chest, trying to remember if this was the right way to handle electric fires or not. Rise tore her own coat off beside him and added hers to their makeshift tourniquet. His coat had absorbed all the heat, so that it burned his fingers, but the addition of Rise's coat made it more bearable. They held their breaths and kept still, waiting for any signs of the flames eating through, but nothing of that kind occurred, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

Rise fell to her knees as the fire alarm sounded.

"Thank god..." she gasped, massaging her face. 

"Are you okay?" Yu placed a hand on her shoulder. She nodded. The next moment, she pulled her hands away from her face and stared up at him, wide-eyed. 

"Geez, senpai, that's not what's important! How're your hands?" 

They were stinging currently, but she was gentle as she grasped his wrists and pulled them toward her. They were red, but the skin was still in one-piece and as ribbed as they ever were. She let out another sigh of relief. Around them, they could hear people shouting and leaving the floor. It hit him then and there that he'd just lost everything on that computer. He really should've used that cloud thing. Dammit.

"Oh, thank god." She glanced up, as if the source of the siren was in the ceiling. "We should go, huh?"

"Yeah," Yu said. He looked back at swaddled laptop. "We need to warn the others about this."

"No," Rise said. She stood up and brushed the knees and rear of her pants. He stared at her, startled. "We need to tell them that someone's trying to kill you."

\--

"What, tomorrow? Seriously?"

Yu could hear Rise's voice from the examination room. She was just outside the door, taking a call with Naoto while Yu waited to be discharged. His hands were wrapped, he had an ice pack between his knees for if it hurt, and some acetaminophen for the pain. His statement taken, he was free to go back to the school. Rise, despite only taking the afternoon off, was sticking around. He'd have to send her away. He didn't want to get her in trouble.

He couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. He had a feeling he knew what it was about, though. Tomorrow... Naoto was trying to all assemble them in Tokyo. Yu had accepted a part of this new adventure would be solo, but it didn't seem that Naoto had. Well, if anyone could do it, it was her. 

His laptop was officially melted. He'd have to pull from his savings to get another one. He tried to tap his fingers against his leg but winced at the action. He had to stop doing that.

Rise reentered the room, looking pensive. 

"Okay, so I've called everybody. Man, they really know how to blow up a phone. How's yours doing, by the way?" 

Yu glanced at his phone lying next to him on the examination table. He had turned it off. "Dunno." He shrugged.

"Probably not much better. They were _super_ worried, and I don't blame them. Did you call your parents?" There was a little bit of something in that question that Yu couldn't exactly name. Curiosity about his parents, probably. He didn't talk about them much. Not because he hated them, just because they weren't often in the picture. His dad was working a job in Dubai at the moment. The time zones made it impractical to talk all the time, and it really wasn't a big deal.

"Not yet. I will later."

"Hmm." Rise frowned. "Well, you should. Anyway, Naoto and everybody are gonna try to head over here tomorrow."

He knew it.

"They don't have to do that."

"That's what I told her, but she thinks this is something big and we should deal with it immediately. I mean, Kanji and Yosuke-senpai said they could swing a week, but I dunno how Chie-senpai and Yukiko-senpai are gonna do it. Teddie, too, of course."

He was inconveniencing them again. He pushed the on button of his phone. "They should just get here when they can."

"But what if something else happens to you when we aren't here? I mean, no offense, senpai, but when you're not in the TV world, you're just like the rest of us. Even if you're cool." She smiled at him fondly.

So, she expected more attacks to follow. Yu hadn't really considered that, but it was possible that "him" Philemon was talking about could target him. He really wished he could get in contact with Igor, but he hadn't seen any Velvet Room doors anywhere. He would just have to wait until he was summoned. 

"Thanks." Yu returned her smile. "But shouldn't you get back to work?"

"Yeah," Rise whined. "I should, shouldn't I? But I really don't wanna. I wanna take care of you!" She pounded the air with her fists, and Yu was very forcefully reminded she was an idol. There was just something very cutesy about the action. 

"I'll be fine."

"Mr. Narukami." The doctor on call at the ER entered, and the rest of conversation was taken up with further instructions and forms to take up to the reception. He and Rise went together and exited the hospital together. They'd arrived in an ambulance and, by Rise's insistence, were leaving by limousine. He spotted it parked against the curb. 

"Come on." Rise was nervous being out in the open, having not expected to go to such a public place, and Yu followed her to the limo, shivering (he'd lost both his favorite jacket and laptop in one day). Once inside, he settled back against the leather seats and listened to Rise and her manager talk over the phone. He checked the texts he'd received from his residents and friends alike. "Where are you?" and "What happened?" were the gist of them. He spent the ride responding to them individually, assuring his residents that he was okay (how'd the news get around already?) and telling his old investigation team they didn't need to feel pressured, even though it hurt a bit to do it.

 _Are you kidding, man? I ain't gonna sit back and let some evil guy take you out._ was Yosuke's immediate response.

Kanji: _Don't worry about it, senpai._

Chie: _I'll just have to pull a few favors, it's cool._

Yukiko: _We're not insanely busy right now, so I think the inn should be okay. Please be careful. We'll be there as soon as possible._

Teddie (who'd managed to get a phone of his own): _I'm so excited!!!!_

Naoto: _Don't try and be the hero for once. We're going to reconvene tomorrow at my Tokyo apartment. I'm about to send you all the address. If you hear anything more about the website, or anything suspicious like what just happened, you have to tell us. We have your back. Remember that._

Yu closed his eyes. He should've known. There was no talking them out of anything, once they set their mind to it.

"Hey, senpai." Rise was leaning over him, having ended her conversation at one point. "I've decided to go back to work. I've got meetings I can't miss. But, you know? I'm gonna ask around about that website. I mean, my coworkers have teenagers. Maybe they'll know."

"Okay," Yu said with a nod. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'm glad you're okay, senpai. I've really missed being around you guys. Don't worry how we're gonna make the meet-ups work. We'll do it." She winked. 

They arrived at a side of his campus ten minutes later. Rise waved him off, and he watched the limo until it turned a corner and disappeared from his sight. He stood there on the sidewalk, used only by students who stayed in the dorms nearby, and allowed himself to be grateful for the people in his life. 

He just hoped none of this got back to Dojima, or even worse, Nanako.

\--

His residents didn't believe his assurances, either. He was stopped by the ones milling around in the common room the moment he stepped inside his dorm. The laptop-fire story only had to be doctored a little to make it suitable for normal ears, so explaining it wasn't that difficult. Once he had done that, he really wanted to head back up to his room, but Suzuki and Ishinomori (his most troublesome residents) grabbed him by the arms and had him gridlocked on the couch before he could protest more than once. They were cracking open beers the next minute. Before he knew it, he had one in his hand, when all he really wanted to do is check out that website again. The old TV was playing the news. No one used it, so that was its default channel. There was a story about the upcoming elections playing at the moment. The news anchors were referencing former politician Shido Masayoshi. A profile of his came up on the screen.

"You were in Hidaka's English class, right, Narukami-senpai? Was he always such a hard-ass? Seriously, I turn everything in on time. Isn't that good enough?" Ishinomori complained to his right. 

"You're asking the wrong person. Narukami-senpai probably actually did well, you know," responded Suzuki, to his left. He took a sip of his beer. Yu felt compelled by the good cheer to at least humor them. He took a sip himself.

They kept snipping at each other over him, so he decided not to half-ass an answer.

Ishinomori glanced at the screen. "Ugh, that shit again. I hate politics. Does anyone know where the remote is?" He called this out generally.

"We've lost it," answered Watanabe from her position behind the counter of the kitchenette, chopping up radishes. "You're gonna have to get your lazy ass up."

"Aww man, seriously?" Ishinomori was in the middle of getting up anyway, when the screen flashed red. It wouldn't have been notable, had it not happened again a couple seconds later. The image then began to tear, and the background go white, and an image of a figure began spinning, as if film was beginning wound impossibly fast, before it settled on a high school girl standing against a white background.

"What the fuck?" Ishinomori stopped dead.

Yu sat up and forward.

"Hey, hey, hey," said the girl, her voice distorted as if it had been treated. Her features were blurry and hard to pick out, beyond the general black and white color of her school uniform and her bobbed hairstyle. She giggled. "Help me. Could somebody _help_ me? I just wanted to try it out. _Everybody_ was talking about it. Everybody, everybody, everybody. Now, I can't get out. Can somebody get me out? I can't see anything. I can't see. Did I really disappear? Help me. Help me."

And then she leaned forward, and her blurred out face filled the screen. 

Her next words sounded even more demonic. _"Help me, Narukami-kun."_

And then the news returned to the screen. The news anchors looked panicked and were saying something about their broadcast being interrupted. Beside him, Suzuki was talking to Ishinomori, saying, "Did you hear that last part? I couldn't understand it." 

Yu stared at the screen in utter shock.


	8. Sparks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters just keep gettin' longer and longer...

"What do you mean, you don't know where she is?" 

Kirijo Mitsuru flinched. She drew her phone away from her to protect her eardrums, impressed that Yukari could continue to be heard despite the motion.

"You have a tracker on her, right? I mean, you have to!"

"We do," Mitsuru hit speakerphone, "but it has stopped responding. That could mean a number of things, none of which I'm fond of. It doesn't, however, necessarily mean what you think it does."

"No..." Yukari sounded miserable. She was always acting out what Mitsuru felt. Even as time had passed, she still wasn't able to be as expressive as she wanted to be. A business mask was still the most comfortable. "But it's still not good, right? It's because of the shadows, right?"

"It has to be." Mitsuru's eyes raked the graphs and sonar images taking up every viable portion of the computer screen. The blinds drawn, her office was awash with blue light and nothing else. Her eyes hurt for all the looking at it. It wasn't yet twenty-four hours since Aigis's disappearance, but it was still too long. Aigis never even made it to the safe-place. Communications had just been cut-off over Shibuya, and nothing more had been heard from her. 

_Threat...located..._

The hive of shadows over Shibuya. That was the only explanation. 

"Then, what--what are we gonna do? Can you find her, or--because I haven't heard anything, you know? I mean, not that I'm paying attention to everything that happens here, but you'd think I'd hear about it if an android fell out of the sky!"

"It is entirely possible she's not in this world." Mitsuru realized how that sounded as she said it and hurriedly corrected herself, "What I mean is, she may have been dragged into a pseudo-Dark Hour."

Mitsuru imagined Yukari chewing her bottom lip.

"She's okay, right?"

"I intend to think so." Mitsuru, balancing a tablet on her knee, zoomed into Shibuya on a map. She stared hard at Shibuya Station. What could be there...? Was the source of it something like what had happened last year? Those events had always bothered her. Those psychotic breakdowns, so like Apathy Syndrome she'd almost intervened. The Phantom Thieves, those sudden changes of heart, the close-off of Tokyo from the rest of the world. Mitsuru had watched it unfold on her Shadow tracking equipment in dread, but it all turned out all right without the Kirijo Group.

And this website. She deftly flicked to the other window she had open. 

_HA HA HA. LIFE A JOKE? 345-2123._

It was suspicious, to say the least. 

"I'm on break right now," Yukari said, and Mitsuru realized a bit of a pause had passed. "I wanna help."

Mitsuru sighed. "I'm just wondering if you, or any of us, can. Would it do to go all the way out there and leave Iwatodai unprotected?" Since she graduated, she had built Kirijo Tower in the center of Iwatodai. It was her version of a "good" Tartarus, its exact opposite in every way. Built for life, not death. Even still, such precautions and funds poured into protecting this world from shadows had placed Iwatodai in a precarious situation. Should those who could take advantage of shadows know about it, it would make the entire island another target. She was always on edge about it. 

"I think you could leave it for a week. I mean, you don't think someone's just sitting around, waitin' to jump the city, right?" 

"I can't be sure."

"Mitsuru..." Yukari was smiling. Mitsuru could sense it. "We should get the others to come. I mean, at least as many as can make it. We need enough people to go in there and get Aigis back."

Mitsuru brought up her contact list automatically. She scrolled through their names and swallowed the pangs of wistfulness. "I'm not sure they would be easy to reach."

"Not even Sanada-senpai?"

"I'm afraid he would be the most difficult." She had not spoken to him in some time, but their last conversation had assured her he was happy. 

"I mean, Junpei should be pretty easy. Not like he's got a lot going on." Yukari was as caustic as she could be without truly despising their former teammate. Mitsuru had accepted that was just her way with Junpei.

"I suppose we could try. I will ask Yamagishi and Amada if they can help. That includes Koromaru, of course."

"Of course. You know, I just feel like, if he'd still been around, this'd be way easier." Yukari sounded ashamed to admit it, but Mitsuru had long agreed with his statement. 

"We'll make it work. We'll save her, one way or another."

\--

"You're kidding, right? Like, really? Are you serious? A robot?"

Akira was pretty sure Sojiro could hear her from downstairs. He was down there grumbling now, uttering a lot of "I can't believe this" and "This kid..." Standing over Aigis in his bed, as dead to the world as he had found her, he really couldn't blame him.

"Yeah, I'm serious."

"Like--like a Roomba, or like a mech thing--no, no way you could fit that in LeBlanc--or like a Multi thing? Wait, you wouldn't know who she is, either..."

"She's definitely not a Roomba." Though Akira wouldn't mind a vacuum cleaner that could defeat shadows, too.

" _She_? Oh my god, this is a breakthrough! This is even cooler than getting our personas back! Okay, okay, I was on my way over, anyway! Be right there! Don't do anything cool without me! Bye!"

And then the line went dead. Futaba always preferred texting over phone calls, but she could sure carry the conversation. 

"She didn't answer your question, right?" Morgana cleaned his paw as if he'd spoken from sage wisdom. 

"No." Akira's lips twitched. "But that's okay." He had covered Aigis with his old comforter, something he and Sojiro had dug out of storage. He hoped she couldn't smell, because it reeked of must. The whole attic carried the smell. Sojiro had returned it to its original use once Akira'd left, and since then, whenever he'd visited, he'd stayed over at Sojiro's place, instead. The former Thieves still hung out there whenever he came on vacation, but otherwise, it was basically an abandoned space. Every time he'd felt a pang of irritation. What was the point of cleaning the whole thing, then? 

"So, I guess she's just gonna have to be like that until they get here." Morgana shook his head. "I feel bad."

"Ann's on her way," Akira said, checking his phone for that message. It seemed like everyone else was going come later. Aigis might have just turned the situation around. They'd be too distracted by her to say anything about him coming here, and maybe then, they would listen. After all, all three of them had seen that place with their own eyes.

Akira stared at her delicate features. He had closed her eyes, an act he didn't enjoy doing, because it felt a bit morbid and inappropriate for the situation. Her skin wasn't soft, but it wasn't hard, cold metal either. More like rubber, or something like it.

"I wish we'd asked her where she came from. Maybe we could've contacted her...owner?" Morgana cocked his head, as if he didn't like the way he'd worded that sentence. "I mean, she was clearly sentient, right? She must have friends."

"Yeah." Akira sat on the floor beside the bed. The couch was covered by a sheet, and the table long removed. His arms and legs were aching from dragging Aigis all the way to LeBlanc, having to skirt through back alleys all the way from Shibuya to Yongenjaya instead of taking the train. It'd been freezing, even with his coat. He leaned against the side of the mattress. 

"Hmm, I was surprised she turned out to be a persona user. She has to have a soul to make that work. I've never seen anything like it before." Morgana leapt from the top of his old CRT to the bed and circled her, sniffing curiously. 

"She didn't rip off a mask," Akira said, resting the back of his head on the top of the mattress. 

"I guess she didn't have one in the first place. I do know that not all persona users summon their personas in the same way." By the dip in the mattress, he could feel Morgana settle next to his head.

"Hmm." Akira stared at the ceiling. 

_Shut up. Give in._

Akira's eyes slammed open with the banging of the door. Sojiro, Ann, and Futaba strolled in, each carrying steaming cups. The general aroma was that of coffee. 

"What's this about a robot?" Ann demanded and then stopped in her tracks. She stared, wide-eyed, at Aigis in his bed and then at himself.

"I _told_ you. You just didn't want to believe it. Yoo-hoo! It's good to see you again, Akira! Mona!" Though she waved, she waltzed right past them, pretending to drool and wiggle her fingers over the prostate form. "Wow! She's like a foreigner! So pretty!"

Ann turned to stare up at Sojiro, who scratched his neck. "I wouldn't let a corpse in here, you know. And it seemed pretty heavy to me. Not like a statue, or anything."

"What is going on?" Ann shook her head and drew nearer. Akira got to his feet and stepped out of the way, so that Ann had a better view of Aigis. As Akira explained what had occurred in the last hour, Futaba poked and prodded Aigis, Morgana oversaw, and Sojiro forced a hot cup of coffee into Akira's still-chilled fingertips. He stood there, waiting for Akira to finish, and when he did, before anyone could say anything, he said, "I shoulda known you couldn't keep yourself out of trouble. I can't make you do anything, but you better drink that. You'll catch a cold if you don't warm up."

He then left them to their own devices, promising to point everyone else their way once they arrived. Akira took a sip once he left, in deference. It was rich and warmed his very soul.

"So, it's really true." Ann stared at Aigis in trepidation. "It's pretty amazing she had a persona. But how are androids even possible? I mean, I guess it's pretty crazy that shadows and personas even exist, but..."

"We're not sure, Lady Ann, but right now we just need to figure out how to, um, charge her?" Morgana had settled on Aigis' chest. His tail swished back and forth.

"Looks like we've got a problem with that, though." Futaba'd been mumbling to herself the entire time, but here she spoke up loud and clear. "This thing has got to be ancient. There's not even a single USB port anywhere!"

"Futaba, it's an _android_. It can't be ancient. It probably just doesn't work like a phone or a computer." Ann stepped closer to Aigis. 

"Why not?" Futaba puffed out her cheeks. "Well, whatever. It just means I can't do anything about her. She's a closed system. Unless she's got a back-up battery, then she's done for now. We'd have to find whoever made her. You said her name was Aigis, right?"

Akira nodded. 

"Sorry, we're late! It's cold as balls out there. Hey, Boss was mention' somethin' about a robot?" Ryuji entered without any further preamble, followed by a smartly-attired Yusuke in a white jacket. He must've saved up to afford it somehow. Even now, he struggled with money, a bit. Ryuji looked the same. Akira was almost relieved at that.

"Is that supposed to be a joke? Because I am not sure it makes sense." Yusuke's expression went slack with surprise, however, and so did Ryuji's as they caught sight of Aigis.

"Ugh, you didn't text _any_ of us about this?" Ann was glaring at him. Akira kept his eyes trained on Yusuke and Ryuji. 

"It's crazy, right? Ta-da, she's real!" Futaba flourished her hands like she was showing off a magic trick.

"Woah, seriously? What the hell is even happening right now?" Ryuji stared blankly between Aigis and Akira. "I thought we were just comin' here to chew you out!"

"She's perfect," Yusuke whispered, almost a little too worshipfully. He rushed forward and leered over Aigis's unconscious form. "Beauty itself, like a Grecian statue."

"Hey now, Romeo, hold up." Ann grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him away. "We do need to talk about that, too. Don't think we've forgotten, Akira."

Damn. Akira hid his frustration in his coffee. Old habits die hard. He squashed his true feelings and put up the facade of devil-may-care assent. 

"I mean, how did you even find it?" Ryuji ran a hand through his hair in bewilderment.

"Her," Akira corrected and was about to go into another spiel, when Haru and Makoto came bursting in behind Yusuke and Ryuji.

"Oh, you're okay." Haru, pretty in her pastel pink duffel coat, collapsed to her knees at the sight of him. Akira moved forward in alarm, but Makoto, breathing like she'd run a marathon, thrust forward her phone. Her beige coat was askew, revealing her black turtleneck beneath. 

"This," she swallowed, but it didn't do her any good, "did you see this?"

"Woah, are you guys okay?" Futaba asked.

"See what?" Ryuji turned around and leaned in, squinting to read it. Akira and everyone else joined him. It was an article, published maybe thirty minutes ago. The headline read:

_SHUJIN STUDENT SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUSTS, SHIBUYA STATION_

"We were just there. When did this happen?" Morgana had crawled onto Ryuji's shoulder, much to his dismay. Makoto scrolled down the article with her thumb. Haru was silent, trying to catch her breath.

_Panic spreads throughout Shibuya as onlookers reveal they watched a Shujin High School student burst into flames. This followed the appearance and disappearance of a performance art piece. There was no body left, but the fire did spread to onlookers, and six are currently hospitalized for first and second-degree burns._

The article probably went on, but Makoto did not scroll down any further. They all stared at each other. 

"It's all over the news. I thought you guys wouldn't be watching it." Makoto dropped her arm and took in a deep breath. "You didn't answer your phone. I'm glad you weren't one of the six."

Akira hardly heard her. He was staring hard at the words "performance piece." He'd probably just missed it as he dragged Aigis away. 

"Well, there's your art piece, I guess." Ryuji thumbed at the bed. Makoto stared past him blankly.

"What?" 

"You mean--that was you, Akira-kun?" Haru pressed her hands against her chest. Akira pulled his phone out of his pocket, ignored the three calls he'd received (he must've turned it on silent, so much had happened, he honestly couldn't remember), and brought up the text, which had remained this time, miraculously. Akira wondered if Philemon meant for him to share it this time. He handed it to Makoto, who took it and read it. Her expression changed from relief to determined.

"Sorry for not taking you seriously, Joker. Phantom Thieves, let's reconvene."


	9. Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, uh, had this done yesterday, but where I live suffered an outage, so I couldn't get it up until now. So, yeah.

When Akira opened his eyes, he was face-first on the floor of the Velvet Room. He didn't know how long he'd been lying there--his neck didn't hurt, nor did his joints ache--but time never did flow normally here. Akira pushed himself onto his knees, but started as he brushed up against something hard nearby. Through the impression of deep, midnight blue, he recognized Aigis on the floor next to him. He couldn't help a little gasp.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," followed in the real Igor's creaky accents. He was sitting behind his desk, a leg crossed over the other, grinning his Cheshire way down his long, Tengu nose. Lavenza stood beside him, holding open the book she'd had the last time he saw her. "I see you have returned. It is rare we have repeat guests."

Akira took the moment to observe his surroundings. The Room had changed. It was no longer a prison but a platform suspended in the air by invisible tethers. 

"Can you imagine why I have summoned you?" He unfolded and refolded his long, spindly hands.

"Because of Philemon." Akira got to his feet, though he mused helping Aigis up along with him. He was wearing his--old Shujin school uniform? And his glasses. He touched each lens in bewilderment.

"I understand you have met. It has been many, many years since any human has spoken directly with Master Philemon. That means he has tied your futures with his, each possessing the Wild Card in your own right. It is my duty to facilitate such interactions, and so, you must know, that any who enter here and make use of my services must sign a contract. You have already made haste to summon your own persona, but continuing to do so would be at your own risk. Your friend would know this very well." Igor glanced at Aigis, but because his expression never changed, it was impossible to know how Akira was supposed to take that statement. 

Lavenza silently moved over to Aigis's prostrate form and placed her hand on the android's head. A blue glow lit her fingertips and then faded. She then returned to Igor's side, and Aigis twitched, shook her head, and got to her knees. She was squinting and gritting her teeth, as if she'd just been awakened from a deep sleep. 

"Ah, you are awake. So, it appears we are your electric sheep. Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor repeated, swiping his hand over his desk and materializing a curled scroll. "I am the servant of Philemon. This is a room that only those bound by a contract can enter. If you are here, then it is because you seek truth, like it is an old friend." He stared beyond either of them. Akira glanced behind him, but he could see nothing in the black, curtain-like darkness behind them. "But truth and reality are much like figments of the unconscious. They flitter and fade without a steady mind. There are darknesses which feed upon those who run from truth, and it is that fear that devours them. It would behoove you to take heed of the shadows of the mind. Your personas may be your masks to face these darknesses, but they are not your crutch. The true face must always come up for air, so to speak." He chuckled and held out a quill.

Akira felt uneasy, but he couldn't quite pinpoint why. Still, he stepped forward. Aigis strode past him suddenly, wielding her fingers, and demanded, "Then you are the one behind these terrible things?"

"No." Igor held up a hand. This stopped Aigis in her tracks. "I only provide assistance. It is by Master Philemon's will that I am capable of this at all."

Akira realized he had learned more about the origins of persona in this one moment than he had the entire of last year. Aigis's shoulders were hiked up to her ears. Akira was afraid she would still open fire.

"That butterfly," she said, tone guttural from what sounded like contained fury, "was him?"

Igor seemed a little gentler with his next words. "He was an excellent guest. But his choices were his own. They were not made with our interference. Time never waits, you understand."

Akira moved forward a little, not sure whether he was going to restrain her or not, but he happened to catch a painful, open-mouthed gritting of teeth. She dropped her arms to her sides. 

"I won't sign it," Aigis said. "I won't trust him."

"Won't you?" Igor pointed the quill at Akira, who realized he was now being addressed. "And will you? It is in your nature for rebellion. Will you accept the call of duty?"

Akira nodded. "If there's something bad happening, I want to stop it."

Aigis didn't look at him. It was as if she didn't even know he was there. 

"I am only the vehicle through which your masks can change. If that is your will, then so be it." Igor bowed his head. Aigis clenched her fists. Akira felt something brush his shoulder--gooseflesh crawled where something invisible revealed itself to be the culprit--and watched as the quill was taken from Igor's fingers and signed _Yu Narukami_. The quill was handed back. Akira didn't hear it, nor could he see it, though his eyes hurt with the strain of looking, but he felt a pressure, like that of a friendly pat, against his shoulder. And then the feeling of someone else was gone, and Akira, Igor, and Aigis were alone. Akira stared at the name. It was not familiar. Another person summoned to the Velvet Room? Another persona user, someone who he would meet eventually? He wondered if they were the same age, or if he was older (If Yu was in fact male, he couldn't tell based on the kanji). 

Aigis stared at the name, but her expression was unreadable. Akira signed it, feeling very European for using a quill. He didn't need to even think about it. He wouldn't let other people suffer if he could help it.

"As you wish." Igor bowed again.

"Our doors will be where you need us. We will come when called," Lavenza said, smiling at him. Akira nodded, wondered why she was so quiet and missing, a little, the brash sounds of the former assistants. 

"If I agree, Philemon will be forced to reappear, yes?" Aigis said, straightening her shoulders. 

"He may," Igor said carefully.

"And when he does, I will speak with him. I will ask him why he allowed this to happen. Why he allowed them to suffer. They are only human. They are strong, but they didn't need to go through what they did." 

There was...anguish there. Real anguish. Nothing like how she'd spoken to him before. It was like she was human.

"And if he is so powerful, then I will make him grant my request." Aigis took the scroll and made out her name with machine precision. The katakana was font-level perfect and even. 

"If it pleases you. I look forward to what you will accomplish." 

As the Velvet Room faded, Akira's last impression was of Aigis looking back at him for the first time. Her face was scrunched up in distress, and he swore there were tears rolling down her white cheeks.

\--

Aigis could not explain consciousness to her friends. For her, it was not a slow wakefulness, but an awareness of existence and the movements of all her parts and systems. She could feel updates, if "feeling" could be equaled to a change in coding or directive. She could also feel when things were not functioning as they should, and so when that sudden snap-back into being occurred, she knew that her GPS and link to the Kirijo database was down. Next, she knew that there was a warm, human body near her.

She had the equivalent of extinct. Her body did what it was told in a situation of threat. Via automation, her higher functions this assessing the level of damage, she was put upright and drew her guns in the direction of the human form. She cocked. She saw, her infrared the default view screen for a reason she did not have the time to figure out, the orange-and-red thin, rod of a human jerk suddenly, look over, and fall back. She must be baring down, for it continued to scuttle backward, and in that moment, she took complete control of her systems again. She switched to her view screen to normal and stopped her feet from taking another step. 

For a split-second, Minato was staring at her, wide-eyed, hand-raised in futile protection. And then he was gone, replaced by a dark-eyed, dark-haired boy that seemed to be the humanoid form of a mop. His eyes were large. His lips were parted in shock. There was no one else in the room (a bedroom, if she were to judge). 

Aigis lowered her arms. 

"You are the boy from before," she said. "Where am I?"

\--

By ten in the morning, they were passing coffee mugs around Naoto's small living room. Everyone but Teddie accepted the offer. For him, it was "just too bitter, yuck!" Rise and Kanji overwhelmed theirs with milk and sugar. Yukiko drank hers with honey. Naoto and Yu enjoyed theirs black.

He was a little tired from the night before. His sleep hadn't been sound. He'd dreamed of the Velvet Room. He hadn't been alone there, as Igor spoke to two fuzzy figures. He remembered the thin one had signed. He'd yet to tell the others about it. He'd never really shared anything about the Velvet Room with them, so it didn't feel right to begin doing so now.

Naoto's apartment was very modern, but not to the point of sterile. She had one couch and one chair, which meant that most of them were sitting on the floor. It was large for an apartment in central Tokyo. There was even a separate bedroom. Outside, the weather was frigid and unpleasant. It would snow later that night. The heater was rumbling overhead. Still, Rise remained in her coat, and Yukiko had a throw over her thin shoulders. It was strange for everyone to be together like this, but Yu found he couldn't stop smiling, despite the circumstances (no--maybe because of). He ignored the feeling that they were playing high school students again, what with the obvious sharpening of features that age had given them. 

"Her name was Wakana Tanabe," Naoto said, passing out sheets of printed paper to each of them. "As for right now, her death is listed as the result of spontaneous combustion, as they are not far enough into the investigation to know if it was a normal suicide or a terrorist act. The investigators are assuming the broadcast was her suicide note, but no one can trace the signal used to interrupt the broadcast, so it is unknown how she could've prepared it in advance. She was a Shujin High School second year. According the interviews, she was a normal girl prone to gossip and fads but seemed to have no intentions to take her life or that of others. She hadn't fallen into any bad crowds. However, that website I discovered? It's now directly under suspicion, as well as its owner. 'Everybody was talking about it' was what she said. The only thing her friends and family could mention that had changed in her life was an interest in this website."

She pointed to a screenshot of the liveforever.com website on one of the pieces of paper. "I'm glad I saved it. It's been taken down. Not by the police or the hosting service. Its creator must have taken it down themselves. So, what I'm thinking is, Tanabe tried it."

Naoto looked up, as if to gauge their reactions. 

"It sounds like it," Yosuke said, an eyebrow up. He was sitting on the floor next to Yu, who had occupied the chair at the team's insistence. "But why would she do it? I mean, she clearly didn't know she would be killed when she used it, or she wouldn't, right?"

"It's such an awful way to go," Rise said, staring into her cup sadly. She was sitting, seiza-style, at a low table in the center of the living room.

"Unless she was suicidal, or was brainwashed by whoever's behind the phone number. I mean, do they know how long she'd known about it?" Chie rubbed her hands against her mug, sitting at the foot of the couch near Yukiko, who was next Naoto in the center.

"As long as anyone else at Shujin. The rumor about the website started around the same time it did on the various social networking sites I looked at. It seems too quick. I don't trust that someone didn't intentionally plant it there."

"You think there's like, a spy, or somethin' at this high school?" Kanji furrowed his brow and adjusted his glass. He was on the other side of Naoto. "Like, working for this bad guy that that Philemon guy talked about?"

"If that's the case, then do you think, maybe 'he' might be disguised as a high school student?" Yukiko stirred her coffee with a wooden stirrer absentmindedly.

"It's possible, certainly. If this guy's on the same level as personas, then he could do anything. Maybe even pull them into that other world like Adachi. I wonder if it's the same thing..." Teddie was also hunched over the low table, his chin resting on its surface. "I considered going in to check it out, but I was a little a scared I'd get lost." He stared at the widescreen TV on the wall behind Yu. 

"You'd be a real idiot to do that. Who knows what would happen if you just jumped in? It could be a totally different ball game from the other world in Inaba." Yosuke kicked Teddie's leg gently. "But, I mean, it does kinda seem like what happened last time. But the body's not back, right? Do you think it's still in there?"

"I don't think it's the same," Yu said. They all looked at him. "That place I was brought to... It was different. It was more like this world became the TV world. I have a feeling she went there."

"Yu's right. We might not be dealing with the TV world, at all. Still, there must've been an incentive..." Naoto fell back, thinking hard.

"You mentioned being brainwashed, Chie... I mean, she _was_ acting very strange. As if she'd gone crazy. Do you think it was the result of that place, or was she like that before? At some point she'd had to call the number, right? Was she on her phone when she..." Yukiko trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with the gruesome end of the high school girl.

"I mean, the reports I saw never mentioned her cell in her belongings. I think it went up with her. I mean, you know what I mean. I don't _think_ the civilian reports mentioned her being on her phone." Chie scratched the side of her head. Yu took a big sip of his coffee. "I'm not allowed to push for any more information, though. Y'know, not a part of that unit."

"Unless they request me on the case, neither can I." Naoto shook her head. She was frustrated, and Yu wondered if it must be even worse than the first time, when she was frustrated at her youth being an obstacle, when now it was just protocol. 

"It happened at Shibuya Station, right? That whole section of the station's blocked off. I had to take a completely different route to get here. It was a real pain." Kanji stretched his legs and blew his coffee before taking another drink. "Do you think we oughta check it out?"

"That place's gotta be swarming with police, Kanji. There's _no way_ we could," Teddie said, puffing out his cheeks. Kanji glared at him, and Teddie returned it.

"Teddie's right." Rise had been quiet up to this point. "We should focus on Shujin. I mean, I know the police have been asking around, but I think we should, too. That's our only lead, right?"

"Right." Yukiko nodded. "But how? We definitely couldn't pass for high schoolers anymore. Not even Teddie."

"What does 'not even Teddie' mean, huh? Are you saying my looks are too youthful, Yuki-chan?" He lifted his head up, a sparkle in his eye.

"No, she's means you're not baby-faced _enough_." Yu could tell Chie wanted to smack him in the head, but she restrained herself. 

"I might have to stick my nose in, after all." Naoto hummed. "I wanted to try and avoid that. I'm still on thin ice with my superiors." Although Naoto was no longer the Detective Prince, she was still renown for her skills as a detective. As she had to him, "respect was hard-earned." Yu wasn't surprised this no longer bothered her. She wouldn't have it any other way, after all.

"It's 'cause they're not good as you. They're just jealous," Kanji said with a grin.

"I just need to get better," Naoto said, her lips twitching. 

"So, is that what we're doing? Staking out Shujin High School? It's a Saturday, so it'd only be half-day, right?" Yosuke looked between them. 

"Right. For now, it seems like our only recourse. What do you say, Yu?" They were all looking at him again. Yu didn't need any more time to consider it. 

"Let's do it."

"Well, I guess we should get going," Yukiko said. Still, because it was so early, they didn't leave until they'd finished their coffees, and at that point, they had laughed themselves into a more cheerful mood.


	10. Gathering Clouds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meh! Sorry if this one's not so good.

"I'll come," Ken Amada said to Mitsuru Kirijo over video chat, sitting in the freezing shade of the bleachers at Gekkoukan High. It was evening. The sun was setting. His team members were collecting soccer balls and packing away their cleats. The warmth of exercise was already wearing off, and he'd yet to put on a sweater. It was cold, but it hadn't snowed yet. "Koromaru can, too. But..." He stared hard at the grass stains on his shirt. "Should he really be fighting?"

"That's up to Koromaru." Miss Kirijo expression and voice was gentle. "Even without Aigis, we'll know how he feels about it. I'll make up the excuse for you. You won't be penalized."

"That's not really the issue." Ken couldn't care less if he missed school. He chewed his bottom lip and toyed with the hem of his shirt. "Aigis isn't dead, is she?"

"She appeared for a moment on the tracker. I'm not sure what's happened, but she was alive at least four hours ago. I'm going to believe that there are extenuating circumstances that has made her disappear again, specifically around the spontaneous combustion of that high school girl."

"Is Yamagishi coming?" He hadn't seen Fuuka in a while. He missed her.

"As soon as she can, but Junpei may be unable, and Akihiko is currently in Tottori, so he won't be able to join us. Would you like me to pick you up?"

"No." Ken got to his feet and stretched his legs. He held out his phone in front of him and tried to put on a smile. Talking to Miss Kirijo like this reminded him of the first time he'd stepped through the Gekkoukan doors and realized he was doing it alone. He never went to the roof. It was seared in his mind as a holy place, frozen in time, never to be touched again. "I'll just take the train."

"All right." Miss Kirijo smiled. It was a sad, lonely one. "I'm glad you're doing well. I look forward to working with you again."

\--

Yukari would have called this boy scrawny. Aigis had spent enough time with her to know, even if she had not spoken to Yukari recently. She was in Tokyo pursuing her dream, and she didn't have much time beyond a handful of calls. Aigis was happy for her. She admired the drive that humans had to live, despite their inevitable deaths.

"Uh..." The boy ran a hand through his porous-looking hair. "You're in Cafe Leblanc. In Yongenjaya."

"Yongenjaya." There was damage to her CPU. She would need repairs. She could not locate Yongenjaya. She was running on a--Sanada-san had once used the word "jumped" to describe it--limitedly functioning backup power unit. She perhaps had an hour or two of consciousness before she shut down again. That was not enough time to return to Kirijo Tower. She would have to find a way to contact Miss Kirijo before then. "What time is it?"

"I don't know."

Judging the quality of the light, it was early morning. Two nights had already passed.

"I need to use your phone." Aigis approached him, holding out her palm. She understood this was make him nervous, but she didn't have time to consider appropriate interaction. It was necessary she contact Miss Kirijo immediately.

The boy's stare was deliberative. There was an intense shrewdness behind those eyes. Aigis did not know how she could have confused him. Minato's eyes had been gentle, feeling, sad. A symptom of her failing systems.

He stood, shoved his hands into his pockets. Aigis surveyed the room. She was in a storage room, perhaps an attic. There was a fine dust on everything. Rarely used. But there was a bed and a table, on which a cell phone sat. His. Though Aigis moved to grab it, she was unable to reorient herself fast enough before the boy had grabbed it. He held it up, as if to taunt her with it. 

He had a persona, and he was so young. She did not want to harm him.

"You have a persona," he said, surprising her by mimicking her exact thoughts. "Right?"

"Yes. We discussed this previously. Forgive me, but I must contact my employer. I have been damaged. I must be returned to the Kirijo labs." It would be quicker to explain, if that meant he would allow her to contact Miss Kirijo.

He seemed surprised. He lowered the phone. "Kirijo Labs?"

"It is now on Tatsumi Port Island. I understand it is not well-known throughout Japan. I am an Anti-Shadow Weapon. I have only one-hundred and ten minutes before I am out of power. Please, I will explain after I have talked with my employer."

Time had granted her experience in reading human expression. Without her friends, she would have perhaps never understood what the twitch of skin could indicate. His eyebrows furrowed. Her frowned. He was thinking. Miss Kirijo, Yukari, Sanada-san all thought this way. She could not always read the intricacies of the human neural network, so it was somewhat of a surprise to her when he handed the phone over, after opening the dial pad.

"Thank you," Aigis said, smiling in relief. She tapped a digit. It did not respond. Then it dawned on her. "Ah. Forgive me, but could you enter the number in for me? I do not produce body heat."

He raised his eyebrows. "Okay?" 

She returned it to him, and he entered the number she said aloud. He handed it back once he pushed the call button. She stared at the windows, the blinds drawn, as she listened to ringtone.

\--

She really was an android.

Akira didn't know why he was so surprised by that. He watched her talk quietly beneath her breath. He couldn't read her expression (which she had trained exactly on him, by the way). Beyond that one, warm smile, she didn't emote at all. It was unnerving to be the subject of that intense stare. He was still a little shaken up from her almost gunning him down in his former room. She'd yet to apologize for that.

He was grateful that most of the guys were at school. They might've responded a tad too hastily. Morgana was downstairs with Sojiro, while Haru and Makoto had had previous engagements, but they'd promised to meet at LeBlanc after Akira and the rest of the high schoolers combed Shujin. That was the plan. They'd spent all yesterday watching and reading every news story there was related to the Wakana Tanabe incident. They'd even watched and re-watched the interrupted broadcast. None of them had recognized her name or her face, but there was so many students attending Shujin, it was impossible to know everyone. Still, Ann believed she knew someone who knew the friends of Wakana Tanabe. They'd have to do their best to talk to everyone they could. 

Akira glanced over at his old uniform draped over the desk chair. Of course, he was going too. No matter how many times Makoto had told him that he was going to get caught immediately.

He was bursting with energy, a need to do something, to cause mischief or be a part of that mischief. He was still playing the "good kid" at his school, accepting the tenuous bars of reality, but not ever being a-hundred percent happy with it. Everything happening so quickly was like a blessing, even though he would never admit it to the Thieves. He'd admitted nothing, actually. Not his sighting of Akechi, or that moment when fighting those shadows. That voice...

And now, with Aigis conscious, he could ask her what they'd all agreed to ask: how did she have a persona? Did she know what that space was?

Akira was still on edge, but he felt he could trust her. After all, she was like them, if she could summon a persona. And if Morgana could do it, then it shouldn't be weird that an android could.

She hung up the phone and gently placed it in his waiting hand. 

"Thank you. I have alerted my employer, Miss Mitsuru Kirijo, of my location. She is on her way to Tokyo, so you need not worry about my presence for much longer."

"Wait, she's coming here?" Akira felt a flash of panic. 

"I am sorry, am I inconveniencing you? Have you a reason to keep yourself hidden?" She cocked her head to the side.

"No. It's just..." _Don't reveal anything about us,_ Makoto had warned all of them. But Akira didn't know how he was going to avoid it. 

"I will meet with her a ways from this place, if it makes you more comfortable." She glanced around the room again. "You said this is a cafe? Why, then, is there a bed here?"

"It used to be my room. I went to school here for a while."

"You lived over a place of business? Odd." She then refocused on him. "I am sorry for having alarmed you earlier. I am programmed to automatically remove a threat. I was not able to adequately judge what that was." She really did look sorry. "I..." Her face went blank for a moment, an alarming change which Akira couldn't believe he could notice, but then she returned to herself the next instance. "I must preserve my resources. May I sit down?"

Akira nodded, which seemed to be all Aigis needed to collapse onto the floor, her legs stretched out in front of her and holding herself up by her hands. "I promise to explain everything. But afterwards, I must go to sleep. Is that all right?"

Akira nodded again. "How did you end up at Shibuya Station?"

"I cannot tell you everything. What the Kirijo Group does is classified information. But because you are a persona user yourself, I can relate to you an overview of my mission. I was ordered to investigate a sudden appearance of shadows in the center of Shibuya. As I was over the nucleus of activity, I was attacked and drawn into the center, where I could not overcome the numbers and was quickly overrun. I believe Shibuya Station has become an unreal space where shadows exist. I must have triggered it somehow. They were perhaps drawn to my persona." She had been staring at the floor as she spoke, but at the end of her explanation, one which Akira found himself surprisingly capable of following, she looked up at him. "What is your name?"

"Kurusu," he said. Asking her how she could summon a person was on the tip of his tongue, but he restrained himself from doing so. He didn't know why. It just felt...forceful. "Can your employer summon a persona, too?"

"Yes. We are Shadow Operatives. I am surprised as you are that there are others. We had assumed only those associated with the Kirijo's could instigate a summoning." She closed her eyes and then opened them again. "You have the wild card, do you not?"

Akira nodded. 

Her expression turned sad. Akira waited but no explanation as to her change in mood was forthcoming. There was a moment of silence. It was time to ask about that space, if it was like the Metaverse. 

He opened his mouth then closed it. His phone buzzed. Aigis watched him check it.

Skull: _Hey, you awake? You ever heard of this liveforever.com website?_

 _No._ Akira tapped the URL and it opened in his browser. A 404 page was the only thing there. Still, he had a bad feeling about it. _What about it?_

Ann: _I guess people have been talking about it at school for a while. I dunno how I missed that. Didn't think I was so down the entrance exam rabbit hole..._

Skull: _Tanabe and her friends were apparently super into it. It's kinda weird it's no longer there, though. Wonder what happened._

Futaba chimed in before Akira could respond.

Futaba: _Hey, Akira! Is Aigis up yet? Could you say hi to her for me, if she is? Put in a good word? Tell her I think she's super cool! Anyway, yeah, the thing's down, but I can totally get it back up. You leave that to me._ (ﾟ∇^*)

_I wonder how **I** missed it, though. It's like some cool urban legend stuff. _

Akira could practically here the little "eeeee." _Please do_ , he typed.

"Who are you texting with?" Aigis asked, clearly interested. 

"My friends," he said. "A girl caught on fire and disappeared at Shibuya Station yesterday."

"Ah," Aigis said, not looking as surprised as he expected she would. "Then the shadows have finally begun contaminating the area."

"Distorting their desires," Akira said, as he received another text from Futaba asking if he really was gonna gate crash. He received a measured stare.

"Is that how you understand them?" 

Akira nodded.

"I see." Aigis closed her eyes again. It was like she was forcing herself to stay awake. It was a surprisingly vulnerable action. "I'm sorry, but I am going to have to idle, for now. If I am needed, please feel free to wake me." Then she became still. Akira watched her for a second. He could hear Morgana's paws thumping up the stairs. 

"Hey, who are you talking to?" he cried as pushed his way. Akira responded an affirmative to the text instead. In a handful of hours, he was going, whether they liked it or not.


	11. Convergence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is late because a lot of stuff happened, but it's finally out! And it's a bit long, so there's that.

"Well, it looks like a school," Yosuke said, leant back against a building opposite of Shujin Academy. 

"Man, all high schools kinda look the same, don't they? Ain't much different from Yasogami." Kanji was squinting up at its central pillars, a hard, concrete flourish that did nothing but make the place more bleak-looking. He hadn't joined in on the efforts to look natural, a bunch of twenty-year-olds hanging out in front of a high school, chatting as if there was a university right nearby. Yu couldn't help but think this plan had failed from the start, but Yosuke and Chie had responded to his hesitance by a mutual, "It's fine, it's fine. Why would anyone be suspicious?"

As if something hadn't happened recently to this school to make the school staff suspicious of anyone. 

They'd been right so far, at least. There weren't any police stationed outside the building. No officer on patrol had asked them to move along. School was still in-session, so they were just checking the place out, waiting on Naoto to arrive with permission from the section head that allowed her to include herself (and thereby the whole team) in the Tanabe investigation. 

"The uniforms are killer, though," Kanji finished, blowing out a hot puff of air. It was cold. They were all huddled together to preserve warmth.

"I thought Yasogami's was pretty nice," Chie said through a bite of warm anpan. They'd all grabbed a hot drink or a bite to eat from a cafe near Aoyama-Itchome Station. Yu was sipping on more black coffee. 

" _I_ thought they were cute," Rise said in a whisper, hunkered down behind Yu (her shield since they'd got there). Besides a new coat, her incognito set-up was about the same as before.

"The girls’ uniforms only," Kanji said with a finality that would rankle anyone who cared strongly about the topic, but none of the guys really did. Yosuke just shrugged.

"Yeah, well, we won out on the building, at least. You'd think a place in Tokyo'd be cooler than this. Looks kinda like a prison."

"Did you go to a school like this, Sensei?" Teddie was rubbing his arms and looking miserable. He'd already made two cold-related bear puns and whined about wishing he could be in his costume, so now he was just silent and sullen.

"No," Yu said. He didn't like the look of the place, himself. It was very...intimidating. He checked his phone. No response from Naoto yet.

"I mean, this is all very exciting, isn't it? We haven't done a stake-out since high school. Oooh, my heart's racing." Yukiko grinned and pressed her hands to her chest. She'd finished her hot cocoa already. "It feels like old times, doesn't it?"

"Sucks that old times means someone had to die..." Chie frowned. 

"It's depressing, you know. I wish we could just investigate more fun things..." Rise was very active behind him, surveying her surroundings, poking her head around him at all angles, as if a fan would appear out of nowhere and demand an autograph at any moment.

"Hey, could you stop _doing_ that. Aren't you a friggin' idol? You're annoying Senpai." Kanji stilled her via her head, which she lashed out against without any real force. "That van's gonna call the cops on us." By van, Kanji meant the pale blue one parked further down the street. It'd been there before they'd arrived. Yu wondered if it was owned by a visitor.

"I don't think anybody's in there, Kanji." Rise pouted.

"Nao-chan mentioned this is the place those ghost guys first appeared, right?" Teddie broke in suddenly. He had been inching closer to Yukiko since they'd arrived. He was almost at her elbow. Yu was just waiting for a 'we should snuggle close for warmth!' "That can't be a coincidence, right?"

"Ghost guys? What're you talking about?" Chie, who was on the other side of Yukiko, leaned over at him and glared. He stopped short, put his hands behind his back, and whistled. 

"Those Phantom Thieves dudes, right?" Kanji released Rise from his iron grip to readjust his pink earmuffs. Yu wondered how he could hear anything with them on. 

"Oh, yeah. I remember hearing about that stuff last year. You think all that stuff could be related to what's going on now?" Yosuke stretched his arms and yawned. "Man, why'd we have to get up so early? Couldn't we've showed up when school got out?"

"I always thought that those 'changes of heart' sounded kinda familiar." Yukiko, her hair down, replaced a fallen lock of hair. She shot a sly glare Teddie's way, which hit him like an arrow to the heart. He seemed to deflate. 

"I wasn't in Tokyo at the time, either. But, y'know, shadows are involved, right? And shadows might've been involved last year. And, I dunno if it's because it's the first time I've felt Himiko in years and I'm more sensitive, but I swear I can feel something weird about this place. Like, shadow-weird." Rise wrapped her arms around Yu as she spoke. Yu sighed out of his nose. "So, it might be true that that guy is in there."

"We'll have to ask the administration for a list of recent transfers," Naoto's voice sent them all jumping. Teddie let out a yelp. Kanji almost fell backwards. She joined them casually, as if she hadn't just scared them all to death. Yu, phone still in-hand, silently begrudged her for not giving them the heads-up.

"Dude! Naoto! We're tryin' not to get caught here!" Kanji cried.

"Don't scare a guy like that." Yosuke sighed, a hand on his heart. 

"Geez, Nao-chan." Teddie puffed out his cheeks.

"Sorry. I wanted to get here as soon as possible. I received permission, so I'm ready to go when you are." The coat she was wearing, the cut of the hat, was nostalgic. Yu wondered if it was just Naoto's personal preference, even if she had begun dressing more business professional recently. "Not a friendly place, is it? This is where Suguru Kamoshida was forced to change his ways. One of their former principals died last year, as well. And, most interestingly of all, my usurper attended here for a short-time."

"Oh, that other Detective Prince?" Chie swallowed the last of her anpan and balled up the wrapper. "Whatever happened to him, do you know? It all got wrapped up with that Masayoshi Shido thing."

"He is reported missing. It's still an open case." Naoto stared thoughtfully up at the school. Then, "Let's go, shall we?"

"All right," Yu said, feeling, as they crossed the cramped street, a prick at the nape of his neck. He glanced behind him, but there was no one there. When he glanced up at the windows, he swore he saw someone standing behind one, but they disappeared a second later.

\--

"This is it," Mitsuru came to a complete stop outside the little cafe. It wasn't what she'd expected the place to be. All Aigis had given her was the name and its location. It hadn't taken long to meet up with Yukari and book it down here, as relieved as they all were that Aigis was still alive, and they hadn't taken the time to look at the image on the map. She'd expected something a little less...quaint. But perhaps it fit its surroundings. Anything more high class would stand-out in the back alleyway-of this part of Tokyo. Yongenjaya was not busy at eleven in the morning on a Saturday. Though the open sign was turned around, it didn't look like anyone was inside. Yukari, in sunglasses and a face mask, clapped her hands.

"Oh, it's really cute! I've never seen this place before. But coffee and curry's kinda a weird combination..." She cocked her head, lowered her eyebrows.

"Are we just gonna walk in there?" Ken, with Koromaru on a leash, was looking trepidatiously at the door. "I mean, Aigis was gonna just meet us outside, right?"

"We'll need a private place to recharge her." Mitsuru gripped the briefcase she was carrying, wherein a recently designed portable charging unit for Aigis was hidden. "We're here early, and anyway, I wanted to see this place for myself. This is the first time we've come across another persona user. I want to speak with them face-to-face." Mitsuru said no more. She opened the door. 

"Ah, but what about Koromaru?" Yukari cried. As Yukari hurried in after Mitsuru, Ken turned to Koromaru.

"Can you stay outside, Koromaru? We promise we'll be right back." When Koromaru whined, a little older, and a little thinner with age, Ken squatted down to pet him. They had him bundled up in an orange coat, but it was still a little cold even for a dog. Feeling bad, Ken tied Koromaru's leash to a table leg near the door. Koromaru sat beside it obediently while Ken entered the cafe. 

"Yeah? What of it?" was what the man behind the counter was saying as Ken stepped inside. He was washing a china cup, evidently bristling under their sudden entrance. There really was no one inside. Ken thought it was a pretty cozy little place. The TV was on, and it smelled like brewing coffee. 

"I've come to understand," Mitsuru visibly relaxed her posture, obviously trying to bring his guard down. "That my employee was brought here by your...son? We're very grateful to his assistance. We've come to pick her up. We'd also like to speak with him, if we could."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the man said, his brow furrowing. He sat down the cup. "I don't have a son."

"Oh, um, sorry, she just called us out of the blue. We're not lying or anything! We're definitely not suspicious people." Yukari was quick to assure him of their trustworthiness by, both Ken and Mitsuru's opinions, making things worse. It didn't help she looked like a suspicious person herself.

"You say that." He wasn't budging, but he hadn't kicked them out yet either. 

"My name is Mitsuru Kirijo." Mitsuru removed a business card from her chest pocket and placed it on the counter. "I am president of the Kirijo Group of Tatsumi Port Island. I have further proof if you find that necessary. These are my colleagues, Yukari Takeba and Ken Amada." Yukari squeaked. She'd hoped to avoid her identity getting out. She was pretty well-known to kids and their parents. "Aigis is here, isn't she? You know what she is, don't you? I'm sure you've been told."

He uttered a gruff hum as he peered at her business card. "Kirijo..." He glanced up at her, and then sighed, as if something about Mitsuru was painful to look at it. "I thought you were supposed to meet outside?"

"We're here earlier than expected," Mitsuru said, with forceful finality.

He then glanced at Yukari. "Do I know you? Your name sounds familiar..."

"Ahaha, no! No, I don't think we've ever met! Just-just a coincidence, you know! My name's pretty common!" Yukari cried, high-pitched and waving her arms in front of her as if to wipe away his doubt. He squinted at her, disbelieving, before resting his hand on his hip.

"I told that kid to stay out of trouble, but did he listen? Yeah, I got an idea what she is. I don't really want to believe it, though. The name's Sojiro Sakura. That kid's already left for school, so you can't meet him."

"Ah, that's un--" Mitsuru began to say but was distracted, as was the others, by the sound of heavy footsteps stomping down the stairs. Mitsuru had only absentmindedly noted that there was a staircase at the back of the cafe, but Yukari and Ken hadn't noticed at all, so they were especially startled when Aigis's white form appeared. She took each step with the power of a bowling ball rolling down the stairs. Her face was contorted in concentration, her lips pursed in anxiety.

"He's gone?" she demanded.

"Aigis, you're okay!" Yukari rushed forward and met her at the bottom of the stairs. When Aigis began to list, she steadied her. "How did you know we were here?"

"I heard you after I woke to check the time." She smiled a little, though it was tired. "I'm happy to see you, Yukari, Ken, Miss Kirijo. Where is Koromaru?"

"Well, I'm glad you're okay." Ken felt relief wash over him, even if she did look a little rough: covered in dents and black marks. Sakura was staring at her, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape, while Mitsuru slammed her briefcase on the floor and flicked it open. "He's waiting outside. Um, Mr. Sakura, can my dog come inside? It's pretty cold out."

"You had a dog with you? In this weather? Why didn't you just say that. And I was just goin' on..." Sakura grumbled and rubbed the back of his head. Ken spun around and hurried back outside while Mitsuru moved the charging unit (a mess of wires and power adapters) to a table and Yukari and Aigis talked quietly amongst themselves. 

"So, what are you people?" Sakura said over Mitsuru's "Come here, Aigis." Yukari led Aigis to a booth, though she sat down on her own. 

"Um, we're sort of... It's somewhat hard to explain." Yukari leaned against the back of a plush seat, trying to wrack her brains for a reasonable explanation while Mitsuru began plugging Aigis in to the chain of power adapters. The bell chiming announced Ken's return. Koromaru padded in, nails clicking on the floor. 

"What did your son tell you about us?" Mitsuru brought out her phone and some sort of electrometer. She stood and glanced between both at intervals. 

"That is not important," Aigis interrupted. "You should not have let Kurusu leave, Mr. Sakura." She looked dead in his eye. He shuffled uncomfortably and move to some other place behind the counter. He grabbed a bowl from a shelf over his head. The sound of a water stream hitting ceramic. 

"Yeah, I often think that." He said, going around the counter and placing a room temperature bowl of water on the ground. Koromaru barked his thanks and slopped it up. Sakura smiled fondly.

"Why, did something happen with this guy?" Ken settled into a bar stool. "You said he's a persona user, right, Aigis? But how's that...?"

"Amada," Mitsuru said sharply.

"Uhh..." Yukari looked at Sakura, whose eyes were wide again.

"Do you think that kid's in danger?" Sakura spoke only to Aigis, as if what Ken had said hadn't happened. 

"I do. Thank you for sheltering me, Mr. Sakura. But I feel that something is wrong. Why did you say that he went to school, when he said that he used to go to school here?" Aigis was still sat perfectly straight. There was a soft hum from the battery pack in the briefcase, to which the power adapters were hooked. 

Sakura shook his head and sighed again. "He said that he had something to do at his old school. I've given up trying to stop him from doing anything. He'll just do it anyway."

"His old school?" Yukari cocked her head and looked at Aigis wonderingly.

"He mentioned that a girl from his school named Wakana Tanabe spontaneously combusted. Is there a reason he would want to look into it?"

"Shujin," Mitsuru said suddenly. "Did he attend Shujin Academy?"

"Yeah," Sakura said. "I didn't ask. They just told me they're looking into that girl who died. They've always gotta butt their nose into things."

"They?" Ken said, sliding off the bar stool to pet Koromaru, who was resting against his leg. 

"Um, maybe I'm being a bit forward, but is your son and his friends kinda...I mean, if you know about the persona thing, then, are they used to being in the mix of things?" Yukari asked, still struggling for the right words.

"I see," Mitsuru said, as if in a reverie. "I understand now. The website. The girl. Shujin Academy. The shadows. If your son thinks that there is a lead at his former school, then we need to follow it, as well. Do you know its address?" 

"Uh, well, yeah, but... What're you planning to do?" It was evident Sakura still did not wholly trust them. 

"We'll protect your son and find a way to put an end to what I'm sure will be a string of incidents to come. I promise you can trust us." Mitsuru thrust out her hand. Sakura shook it with the hesitance of someone who thought it would explode.

"All right, but he's not my son..."

"But, Mitsuru, are we just gonna leave Aigis here alone? What if something goes wrong with all this stuff?" Yukari asked.

"You needn't worry. This level of charge is perfectly satisfactory. I will join you." Aigis began to stand, but Mitsuru placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"No, Yukari's right. Someone needs to stay with you. And we aren't a part of the investigation, so it would be difficult to get an appointment with the principal or any of the students without one." She placed the crook of her forefinger against her chin in thought.

"Couldn't you just wave your hand and make it happen? I mean, you've got connections, right, Miss Kirijo?" Ken stood straight. "Couldn't we just walk in?"

There was a pause where everyone stared at him, and Ken felt very uncomfortable. "W-What?"

"We can't," Mitsuru said, eyebrows ascending her forehead in a sinister way. "But you could."


	12. Gates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not trying to take forever on this fic. Life always hits when you don't want it to! 
> 
> Also, I guess I'm not counting the Persona 4 Arena's as canon? I'm taking a few things from them, but otherwise, I'm going forward without it. I'm not sure what I would do with Labrys, to be honest...

"Why won't they just _leave_ already?" Morgana cried in a hiss of frustration, hopping up and down on the back of Akira's seat. They were all staring out the back window, watching the idle dallying of a group of college students. The car heater was fogging up the glass, so Akira had to wipe away the condensation at intervals.

"You think they're waiting for someone?" Makoto, phone in one hand, steering wheel in the other, had her eyebrows pinched together. This whole scheme of cloaking Akira in her van was her reluctantly drawn-together plan, and it was already being thwarted. Yusuke couldn't leave school without looking suspicious himself, so he was commiserating via the group chat.

"If they don't leave soon, then Akira won't be able to sneak inside before lunch starts." Haru, hands clasped against her chest, was visibly nervous.

"If he even can," Morgana said. He narrowed his eyes at the group. "I don't like that blond one. He seems fishy."

"How so?" Makoto was texting something with her one hand. Probably to Ryuji, or Ann, about the delay. Akira, whose blood was boiling with the nostalgic energy of a heist, was rapidly glancing between what he could see of the school gate and the group. They didn't look like they were just hanging around. There weren't any colleges nearby, or reasons for college students to take this road as a group, so they had to be there for something. The bespectacled guy kept looking up at the school. Were they curious about Wakana Tanabe?

The silver-haired one... He had hardly spoken, even as his--friends?--chattered happily along. He seemed observant. Akira had a feeling that, if he left the van before the guy left the street, he would remember Akira had been there.

His plan had been to scale the gate, cameras be damned, but now...

"It looks like he's always whining. Reminds me of someone we know. Maybe." Morgana cleaned his paw in a way Akira could only describe as "smug."

"Oh, well, I think that young man is prettier than Ryuji," Haru said.

"I wasn't talking about looks!" Morgana returned to her lap, where he had curled up the entire drive. The short-haired girl was really going at the food in her hands. The pretty, elegant one was laughing at her.

_If you give in, you can have it back._

A twinge in his temple. His fingers pressed automatically against it, but the pain, and the voice, dissipated like the remnants of a dream. It made him think of Aigis back in his old room, where they had left her, with no time to explain his absence except through Sojiro. He just hoped her "employer" wouldn't arrive before Akira got back. As a group, they'd already had a couple arguments about leaving her there verses taking her along, both the night before and this morning, after she'd powered down. Makoto and Ann had wanted to contact that employer, letting them know, but the rest of them were too nervous of who would be on the other end.

He'd let them battle it out amongst themselves. He was still smarting from them chewing him out, each in their own way, about his booking it to Tokyo on a school day. He'd never even had a chance to defend himself As if Akira was stupid and didn't understand the consequences of alerting the authorities if he wasn't careful. They'd barely let him come along on this investigation of Shujin, agreeing only because it made sense to have someone sniffing out the school for clues and overhearing any conversations (be it from the faculty or the students) while Ryuji, Ann, and sort of Futaba (she still wasn't comfortable confronting strangers out of nowhere) did the actual interviewing. It wouldn't be safe for them to try and prowl the halls when they were supposed to be in class.

It was worth the risk for some non-filtered information. At the moment, they were going off secondary sources. Akira wished they had something more concrete, but the website was still down. He'd refreshed the page a couple times already, and there weren't any posts or articles offering a mirror. Just a screenshot.

_LIFE A JOKE?_

His finger rested on the black screen of his phone. They'd all toyed with calling the number, even Makoto had wanted to give it a shot, but they eventually deemed it too dangerous. They needed to find out more about it first.

He hadn't liked how looking at those words and numbers made him feel, like he was being sucked in. Something was coming. That's what Philemon had said. Something as bad as Yaldabaoth, perhaps worse. He felt the pressure this time more than last, when it wasn't entirely evident that the world was in danger, at all. It was imperative they act quickly. He didn't know why they couldn't understand that.

"So, what do you want to do?" Makoto asked of Akira. Neck aching, he winced as he turned around. Haru, stroking Morgana's sleek black fur, was looking at him strangely. A little fond, a little concerned. Akira focused on Makoto instead. "Are we going to wait them out?"

"Just a little bit longer," Akira said, fidgeting with his hair. He stared at his phone, turned it on. Philemon hadn't contacted him in a while.

"Well, we don't have much longer," Makoto said, but she didn't press it.

"Akira, how _do_ you plan to get into the school? The gates are closed even during lunch. Are you going do something exciting? Like convince the others to open the gate for you?" Haru's eyes were shining. It was always a startling contrast, the difference between her sweet personality and her vicious enjoyment of adventure.

"How would he even do that? I don't remember the people at that school being that accommodating. And anyway, he'll just get them expelled doing that." Morgana kept his look of disgust to himself, making sure Haru couldn't get a good angle on him. "And the group text didn't say anything about that, right?"

"No, I'm not doing that," Akira said.

"Oh, well, that's a shame," Haru said.

"Is it?" Makoto's voice was full of disbelief.

How would he contact Philemon if he needed to? Could he? His texts always disappeared, and Akira couldn't exactly remember if there was a phone number or anything attached to them. He pulled up a blank text and stared at the to: box.

And then he had an idea. In that other world, he could go anywhere without consequences. It seemed like the Metaverse, like another space layered on top of the real world.

He left the receiver's text box empty. Quickly, he texted, _how do I get back there?_ and hit send. Despite the conviction in his hunch, he was still surprised when it sent without a hitch.

"You're not going to do something stupid without telling us, are you?" Makoto was saying over his head.

"He is being rather rash recently," Haru said commiseratively.

"I wonder if it has anything to do with Philemon," Morgana mused.

The response returned silently, even though he had the volume up. _If you seek truth there, you seek pain. **That** is a space of untold anguish and torture, a reflection of mankind's inner psyche at its most wrathful, when it is most alone. How one bears it determines their strength. I will grant you the ability to access it, but the consequences of your choices are yours alone._

_Take heed._

Philemon didn't mark it with his name this time. Perhaps, even to him, that would be redundant.

_How do I use it?_

"Oh, look, there's a new person with them," Haru said.

"I can't tell if it's a guy or girl from here," Makoto said. A sigh. "Ryuji keeps texting me about how much he hates study hall. I don't know how he's going to pass his exams if he doesn't go, though. Do you think he's been leaving early all this time, Haru?"

"Oh, I'm sure he has. I think it's very admirable that he doesn't care about his grades. I wish _I_ had more time to do whatever I liked when I was in high school."

"I wonder what the new person's talking to them about," Morgana said, sounding suspicious.

_However you like._

Fine, if it was gonna be that way, then he would.

"Hey, they're going inside the school!" Morgana's proclamation startled Akira back to the matter at hand. He swiveled his head around and received a glimpse of the silver-haired guy half-blocked by the concrete columns around the gate.

"Tell the guys I'll be right there," Akira said, sliding the van door open. Cold air slapped him the face, but it was more refreshing than cutting. Morgana, Haru, and Makoto cried out a variety of "What are you doing's?" but Akira only waved goodbye and slammed the van door shut behind him. The road was empty. The college students had disappeared into the school. He could hear the school gate closing. He didn't try to catch it. He instead sauntered forward in his old uniform, practically tasting the wistfulness for old times, and about-faced in front of the gate. Shujin Academy hadn't changed, but it still reminded him of a prison. Somewhere in there, someone knew why Wakana Tanabe had gone up in flames. Or at least, they knew what the website was about.

Smiling, he snapped his fingers, and he blinked out of existence.

\--

"Aw man, seriously..."

The lunch break rush had been pressing, a horde of salarymen, OL's, students skipping out on the rest of Saturday classes and clubs, tourists, all a police officer in disguise, just waiting to haul Ken Amada to a station somewhere. Gripping his coat tight to his chest and huddled over to hide his face, he turned down the street on which Shujin Academy was located and was relieved that it was immediately quieter. A couple cars were parked up against the curb, but besides them, the street was completely empty.

The uniform, a mysterious extra dredged up from a mysterious closet, smelled like mold. He'd almost begged Mr. Sakura to wash it, but he'd been pushed out the door before he could offer up the suggestion. It was freezing, and he was about to do something stupid. He was about to break into Shujin Academy, some way, somehow, and he was doing it alone.

"Miss Kirijo better offer some compensation for this," he grumbled to himself. Back at Leblanc, they were enjoying warm drinks and Aigis's company. He could hear them over video chat, which he had on his pocket. He didn't care if they had to stare at blackness. They deserved it.

He didn't come across a single person as he reached the school's entrance. He stared up at the horrible, concrete monstrosity. Gekkoukan had at least some elegance, even if that elegance came from an unsavory origin. This... This place could've been a parking garage.

He scratched at his shoulder. The fabric was itchy, and the shoulders too big. He didn't like to think about that.

"I don't even have an ID," Ken said. What would happen if someone caught him in the hallway? Sure, Miss Kirijo could get him out of a suspension should he be caught, but it wouldn't look good. It'd be on his permanent record. She trusted him too much.

He searched up and down what he could see of the school grounds. It was a solid fortress. There were too many windows. Maybe if he'd brought Koromaru with him, he could've found a spot to dig under?

He sighed deeply. Despite the years that had passed, he still sometimes felt like a helpless kid. Just a few more months. A few more months, and he'd be on the same level as his teammates. He was brooding over this, over being the only one left behind in a school full of memories, both painful and important, when a dark-haired boy appeared in the courtyard. It happened in a blink: one moment the walkway beyond the gate was empty, the next he was there, in Shujin Academy attire, staring at his fingertips in deep confusion. Ken, startled, dove behind one of the gate's concrete columns. Heart-pounding in his chest, his mind raced. It was like what used to happen during the Dark Hour, or at least, Ken assumed that was what it would look like to others. Should he--approach them? He hadn't brought his spear. He had no way of defending himself.

Footsteps drawing near. He tried to make himself smaller, even as every brush of clothing and scrape of his shoes against the asphalt rang in his ears like gunshots.

The footsteps stopped right before the other side of the gate.

"Akechi?" The voice, a guy's voice, was a bare whisper. Ken screwed up his face. He'd have to do this the Sanada Way. He thrust himself back into plain view, his arms raised to defend against a blow. Nothing came, just a confused look on the handsome face of a fluffy-haired guy.

"Oh," he said, the guy's shoulders relaxing. "Sorry. You go to school here, huh? Late?" The smile was trying for cheeky, but Ken could tell it was just a cover-up. There was a tense air about him. Ken hadn't thought of a cover story. Shit.

"Uh, yeah. Could--could you let me in?" Ken wasn't sure whether to share his name or not. What if this guy was popular or part of the student council? He might call his bluff immediately.

"I don't think I can," he said, glancing around the courtyard. "Shit."

"What?"

"Cameras," he said softly. And then Ken saw it, its eye sweeping back and forth over the school's entrance. It was probably taking them in, and had been, for some time. The question was--was anyone actually monitoring it?

Ken was about to book it, but the guy spoke up.

"What's your name?"

"Uh, A-Amada." Shit. He just went and said it. "Yours?"

"Kurusu. I think we can do something."

Kurusu? Then-- "Wait, you're--"

"Give me your hand."

Was he gonna try and squeeze him through the bars? When Ken'd been an active member of SEES, maybe it would've been possible. Now, he was too tall. "Hold on, I need to--"

"Come on." He wasn't even looking at Ken anymore. He only had eyes for the camera. Ken grabbed his on autopilot but immediately regretted it. He needed to get the situation under control.

"Aigis sent me here," he blurted out, though it wasn't exactly true.

Kurusu froze, eyes widening. "What?"

"She kept insisting you were in danger, so I'm here. She and I, uh, used to work together." Ken then leaned in. It made him extremely uncomfortable to do so, but it was important no one overhear. "I have a persona, too."

"Oh," Kurusu said. He grinned, and that was unexpected. Ken had expected to fumble through more explanation, but instead Kurusu simply looked as Ken was someone who'd just made his life easier. "Well, that makes it easier, then."

"This probably should work," he said. He snapped his fingers. Ken's vision filled with blue light. For a split-second, he thought he'd gone blind, but the light quickly dissipated along with the worst of his panic. He was still standing in front of Shujin Academy, still holding Kurusu's hand, but the sky above was now a swirling vortex of color, and the shadows were hard and long against the school building.

"I guess it did," Kurusu said, letting go of Ken's hand. It was the Dark Hour. Aigis was right. He was standing in a Dark Hour, and the guy that saved Aigis had summoned it.

 


End file.
